


The Grey Eyed Dragon

by 100SleeplessNights



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Animal Transformation, Asexual Character, Asexual Harry, Asexual Harry Potter, Coming Out, Creature Draco, Creature Fic, Creature Harry, Creature Inheritance, Dragons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff, HP: EWE, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Magical Inheritance, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Non-Binary Draco, Non-binary character, OOC, Other, Prophecy, Rituals, SO MUCH FLUFF, Suicide Attempt, Torture, non-binary luna
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-20
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-31 10:52:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 50
Words: 94,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3975367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/100SleeplessNights/pseuds/100SleeplessNights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As soon as Harry gets on the Hogwarts Express to start his Eights Year he begins to feel terribly cold and no hearth or blanket is able to warm him. What is the meaning of this? And why does it get better when he is in close proximity to Malfoy?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at a Creature fic. Kudos and comments are very much appreciated.

Harry felt extremely cold. No blanket or hearth fire was able to warm him, he had already tried it. He had even asked Madam Pomfrey about it but she had declared him completely healthy for once and sent him back to Gryffindor tower. But being with his house mates only made it worse. Not only that they told him he didn’t feel cold and he was only imagining things but whenever they touched him or were close to him he began to feel sick, almost like he was allergic to human contact.

It had been this way since he had arrived at Platform 9 ¾ in September and now, in early October, he still had found neither a reason nor a cure to his strange sickness.

 

On the other side of the castle Draco suffered from similar symptoms, the only differences being that he constantly felt like his body was on fire and that he knew why this was happening.

When he had turned eighteen a few months ago, he had come into his Dragon inheritance and according to his mother he would only feel content in close proximity to his destined life mate. It had started when he had arrived at the Platform 9 ¾ to attend his last year at Hogwarts, when he had first seen his mate. But considering that the Platform had been packed he now only knew that they had to be in his year because whenever he was in class he felt slightly better.

When he had found out about that, he had been relieved as it was much easier to find his mate in a few handfuls of students than in the whole of the Wizarding World or, even worse, in the Muggle World. The only problem now was that his year mates ignored him as much as possible, he was always sitting on his own in class or was assigned an unwilling partner and when he met one of them in the corridors they ignored him. The silence was often harder to cope with than insults would be. He could defend himself against any and all insults and accuses but he couldn’t do a thing to make the deafening silence and accusing looks stop.

Knowing he wouldn’t be able to sleep until the early morning hours, be it because he feared the nightmares or because he felt too hot to be able to relax enough and was only able to get a few short hours of sleep when he was completely exhausted, he made his way to the library.

The first thing he noticed approaching the library was the heat slowly subsiding to an almost normal level. He smiled. His mate had to be nearby. Opening the doors to the library the only person he saw still sitting in the light of a single lamp was Harry Potter.

_What a great coincidence_ , he thought. _The person I have to spend the rest of my life with is the only person I can never have._

Potter looked up from his studies and directly into his eyes. Draco swallowed audibly. Those startling green eyes always managed to catch him off guard and made him let his mask of indifference down for a second.

“Potter”, he drawled, Malfoy mask firm in place again.

“Malfoy, what a pleasant surprise.”

_Pleasant indeed_ , Draco thought. _It’s the first time in months I don’t feel like I’ll be suffocating from the heat any moment._

He approached the table Harry sat on and waited awkwardly for him to look up again.

“What is it Malfoy?” he asked, still not looking up.

“Can I… do you mind if I sit next to you?” Draco asked, in no way happy about his stuttering.

“Malfoy, maybe you forgot about it but we hate each other. We have this strange truce but that doesn’t mean we’re friends all of a sudden.”

“Then I’ll… I’ll just sit over there.”

Draco changed the grip on his books and trotted over to the next table, ungraciously falling into the nearest chair.

 

The theory of becoming an Animagus they were currently learning about in Transfiguration wasn’t really a pleasant topic for Harry, as it reminded him of the Marauders but he had vowed to himself he would give all he could to become an Animagus like his father and his friends had been. So he’d been studying for the last few nights in the library only going back to Gryffindor tower when he almost fell asleep over his notes.

But what did Malfoy want here? A silent place to study and write essays? He had his own room after all, being the only Slytherin to come back for the Eighths Year. So there would be no need to use the privilege of the Eighth Years to walk around the castle after curfew.

Harry yawned. But he couldn’t go to sleep just yet. The nightmares would come back if he slept more than the absolute minimum to get through the next day and he really didn’t want to deal with those on top of everything else. He concentrated on the books again but was interrupted when Malfoy called his name.

“What is it now, Malfoy? I’m trying to study here. Transfiguration isn’t that easy, you know?” he snapped.

“I… sorry, it’s just… I wondered why you’re here in the middle of the night alone instead of studying with your friends in bright daylight.” Malfoy asked, sounding way less self-assured than he normally did.

“It’s none of your business, Malfoy. But if you have to know, I intend to become an Animagus and that requires quite a bit of extra studying.”

_And I’m hiding from my nightmares by staying up as long as possible_ , Harry added in silence. But Malfoy didn’t have to know that, it was bad enough that Harry had told him as much as he did.

 

Draco was stunned. He hadn’t expected to get an answer and now he was at loss for words. Without trying to continue the conversation he got back to his Charms essay that was due the next day. Well he wanted to go back to it, but Potter cleared his throat and his head snapped back up.

“Well, why are you here, Malfoy?” he asked with a steady voice, making Draco wince at the nervous stuttering he had done.

“Charms essay. Are you already done with that? And I’m running away from my nightmares.” He mumbled that last part, hoping Harry didn’t hear him which was very unlikely in the silence of the library.

“What was the last sentence? I didn’t quite catch it.”

Draco sighed. “I said I am running away from my nightmares! Are you satisfied now, Potter?”

“I do, too,” Harry admitted.

“What?”

“Run away from nightmares.”

 

That was when Harry realized something was different. He didn’t feel cold anymore, still a little cool but not as if his limbs would fall off frozen any moment. Was this Draco’s doing? He had still felt cold when he entered the library right after curfew and nothing remarkable had happened between then and the arrival of Draco. And since when did he think of Malfoy as Draco anyway?

_When you realized that he has nightmares, too_ , his mind supplied. _You sympathize with him because he has had a similar life to yours, just on the other side of the war._

He banged his head on the table. Sympathy for Draco Malfoy of all people? What was he doing? This was Malfoy, the guy who let Death Eaters into a school full of children and almost killed Dumbledore.

_He was doing it to protect his family from Voldemort. And he saved your life back in Malfoy Manor._

Harry groaned. This voice in his head, which sounded suspiciously like Hermione, was right. Draco did deserve the sympathy, probably more than anyone.

Then, Harry had an idea.

“Malfoy?”

The other boy looked up again, obviously not happy about the interruption.

“What?” he spat.

“I wondered… do you still want to sit with me?”

Draco just showed a small but honest smile and levitated his books over to Harry’s table.

Harry felt his body go back to a normal temperature. It _definitely_ had to do with Draco.

 

“You’re the first one who is offering to share a table with me this year,” Draco admitted, a little embarrassed at how open he was now that they had an actual conversation.

“I’ve noticed that. But I have to say, I can understand the others. You’ve been on the other side of the war; it’s only natural that they want to keep their distance from you. And even though you’ve not been sent to Azkaban, you still did all these things.” Harry didn’t elaborate but they both knew exactly what he meant. “They hate you and maybe fear you and it’s perfectly understandable.”

Draco hesitated but then asked the question he wanted to be answered so desperately.

“Do you hate me?”

“No.”

“No?”

“Not anymore. In fact I still hated you just minutes ago. But I thought about it. You only did all these things to save your family. And I think I can understand that motivation better than anyone. And in the end you couldn’t kill. You deserve a second chance. Did you ever think about how similar our lives have been up to this point? You had all those expectations of your father to fulfil; I did everything Dumbledore told me I had to do to save the world. And now we’re at a point where we just want to live our own lives, without expectations but we can’t because people still expect us to play our roles as perfectly as ever.”

“I hate to tell you this, but you’re right Potter.”

 

Harry smiled and subconsciously leaned into the warmth Draco provided and continued his studies. Draco wanted to do the same but he couldn’t concentrate enough. His mate was sitting right next to him, for fuck’s sake. He couldn’t just keep his calm and act as though he was just like any other person.

He had never been able to act normal around Harry – and yes, he was Harry to Draco now, at least in his mind. The boy had something about him that irked Draco and made him want to be close to him. And as he had rejected his offer of friendship on the train when they started at Hogwarts Draco had done it the other way around and always started a fight when he had the opportunity.

Harry noticed Draco’s distress and turned around to face him again.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… I just can’t concentrate.” He forced a small smile on his face to reassure Harry that he really was okay. In reality he would only be okay if he snogged him senseless right there and then. It didn’t matter that the life mate of a Dragon Child was more often than not only a companion, a friend, he wanted more than that.

_Then just try to be friends with him and then you can go from there._

Draco sighed. The voice in his head sounded suspiciously like Pansy. But it was right nonetheless. It was easier to get into a relationship with Harry when they were already friends. He sighed again and got back to his work.

 

Hours later, Harry got up and was about to leave the library when Draco called him back.

“Potter?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you here tomorrow night?”

“Yes. I’m here every night. And call me Harry.”

“Mind if I join you again, Harry?”

“Not at all, Draco.”

Harry smiled and Draco was completely taken aback. It was the smile Harry only gave his friends, it was honest and Draco had to admit he liked it, a lot.

When he looked up again, Harry had disappeared and he felt the heat coming back. He yawned and grabbed his things to go back to the dungeons and catch a few hours of sleep. He had thankfully finished his Charms essay so he didn’t need to skip breakfast again and could sleep a little longer.

 

Harry felt the cold coming back as soon as he left the library but it wasn’t as bad as before.

_It definitely has to do with Draco_ , he thought again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is Chapter 2 for you! I'm sure I won't be able to keep up this pace as I'm still writing on Chapter 3 so it could take a week or two until this is updated again. But I had this chapter ready so I'll just upload it now. 
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!

Harry had a weird dream that night. He was sitting on the back of a dragon with almost white scales, unlike any of the species he knew. The dragon gracefully set off into the air and Harry gripped the spikes on its back firmer as to not fall off any second. A beautiful feeling filled him when they soared through the night. He felt free and more relaxed than he had ever felt on a broom and most of all, incredibly happy, like he could spend the rest of his life soaring through the sky on the back of this dragon. It was exhilarating. After a short flight over a lake the dragon landed and Harry climbed off its back. The last thing he saw before he woke up were the stormy silvery-grey eyes of the dragon winking at him.

 

At breakfast Draco was sitting alone at the far end of the table as always this year. The places on either side and across from him were empty. None of his friends had decided to come back to Hogwarts, Pansy was at a small Wizarding school in the south of Britain, Theo and Blaise had fled the country and he hadn’t heard anything from Greg ever since the Battle of Hogwarts. The other Slytherins kept their distance from him, just like the rest of the school. He wasn’t hungry at all and shoved his breakfast around his plate when he felt the heat subsiding again. Harry was coming to breakfast. He looked up and was greeted by a smile from the Gryffindor who sat at the other side of the Great Hall with his friends. He smiled back and concentrated on his breakfast again.

 

The first class on Thursday was Charms, still taught by Professor Flitwick. Draco looked forward to it even if it was just because he would be closer to Harry and thus not as hot. It was even better when Flitwick assigned Harry and him as partners for their next project.

“You are to prepare a presentation on your favourite charm. It doesn’t matter where or when or how you learned it but you should have mastered it as you have to perform it in front of the class. The presentations will start in two weeks’ time. For now you can leave the classroom and collect information about the charms. Be as thorough as possible in your research. I will stay here for now and answer your questions. But next lesson we will go on with our work and you have to finish your presentations in your free time.”

Excited chatter broke out among the students about Charms and how to do the presentations. Harry and Draco were among the first to leave the classroom and headed to the library. They occupied the same table as the night before.

“What is your favourite charm?” Harry asked.

Draco smiled. “The Freezing Charm. It was quite helpful the last few months.”

“Why is that?”

“I’m constantly feeling hot, temperature wise. I always cool the sheets with it but it only helps so much.” He shrugged.

“But doesn’t it cover everything it touches with ice?”

“Yeah. But it doesn’t help with the heat. It’s a different kind of heat, a magical one.” Draco shut his mouth. He was sure he had said too much. Why was he suddenly so talkative around Harry? It wasn’t normal and not a smart thing to do. Especially now that he was on probation everything he said could and would be used against him. Not that one could really use his Charm preferences against him but it was inevitable that Harry would ask more questions. He should have shut his mouth right after he told him he liked the Freezing Charm best. “Anyway… we should start working. The more we get done now the less we have to do in our free time.” He hurried to say to end the conversation before he gave out even more information.

“Yeah. You’re right.”

“Your favourite is the Patronus I guess?”

Harry nodded. “Would you mind getting a few books? I’ll start researching in our Charms book.”

“Sure.”

Draco wandered off to look for helpful books and started thinking. He was more than glad Harry hadn’t continued asking about him cooling his sheets. It had been uncomfortable enough as it was, he didn’t want to explain the whole life mate business to him just yet. What he wanted was to hide in his room under his bed for the next two weeks and think about possible ways to tell Harry and possible outcomes and cry half of the time because life was just unfair to him. And then maybe, maybe he would tell him. But definitely not here and now where everyone would hear them.

He chose a few books which looked promising and carried them back to their table. When he saw Harry looking at him with admiration in his eyes he smiled. _Maybe this won’t be as difficult as I first thought._

 

Harry was stunned. Draco was nothing like his former self. Malfoy would’ve snapped at him for making a suggestion like this but Draco just got up and looked for books.

He had to admit he liked Draco. Not Malfoy but Draco, the boy he had started to get to know in the last two days. He had to admit he even found him quite attractive.

_Oh great. Now you’re acting like one of his fan girls_. Even if Draco _was_ interested in boys, Harry probably wouldn’t even make the Top 100 of Guys Draco Malfoy Would Go Out With. So better ban that fantasy once and for all.

Well, easier said than done. As Draco came back with a few heavy looking tomes in his arms, Harry couldn’t help admiring his muscular arms and how he could still walk graciously while carrying that many books. Draco caught him staring and smiled.

 

That night Draco dreamt about the Fiendfyre incident for what seemed like the thousandth time. But this time it wasn’t a nightmare. He dreamt of how Harry had saved him, how his hands had felt and how he had leaned into Harry when they sat on the broom, holding on for dear life.

Yes, he wanted that, he decided when he got up the next morning. He wanted Harry Potter to be with him and what a Malfoy wanted a Malfoy got. He remembered the advice the Pansy-like voice had given him the other day about becoming Harry’s friend first. And what better way to achieve that than to observe his current friends during breakfast?

Not that that was helpful even in the slightest. From what he saw he got the feeling Harry’s friends weren’t really the best of friends – at least not now. Harry seemed to feel uncomfortable and Draco didn’t know how but he could tell it didn’t have to do with the fact that he felt physical pain whenever people touched him. This discomfort wasn’t the doing of Draco’s Dragon inheritance.

When Harry looked up, Draco smiled at him what he hoped to be an uplifting smile. It wasn’t easy smiling at someone you spent years hating. Harry smiled back. It was just a small smile but Draco was sure he had done the right thing.

 

“Have you just smiled at Malfoy?” Ron asked looking like his eyeballs would fall onto his plate any second.

Harry shrugged. “Yeah, what’s the big deal? He smiled at me and I smiled back.”

“He smiled at you? You should get your glasses checked, mate. Malfoy hates you, the last thing he would do is smile at you.”

“Well, he did. And he was nice when I worked with him for Charms yesterday. He isn’t as bad as you think, Ron! The war changed him, just like everyone else. It’s not my fault you can’t see past your prejudices.”

“He let Death Eaters into the school, Harry! He wanted to kill the Headmaster! And last I checked the slimy Death Eater git was your worst enemy!” Ron complained in an attempt to make Harry change his mind.

“He isn’t anymore. He never was to be honest. Voldemort was always my worst enemy, Malfoy was just childhood rivalry. And also I don’t know how this affects you in any way. I can be friendly to whomever I want. I could be friends with him and you still wouldn’t have a say in it. I’m sick of people telling me what to do; I wanna make my own decisions for the first time in my life. And if being friends with Draco is one of them you just have to accept it.”

Ron looked at him, stunned.

“But Harry…” he tried one last time. “He just watched when Bellatrix tortured Hermione. He hates Muggleborns and basically everyone who isn’t a proper pureblood. How can you even consider liking him?”

“Draco isn’t his father, at least not anymore. And he saved my life in Malfoy Manor. Think about that.”

With that Harry left the Great Hall and made his way outside to the Black Lake.

 

Why was his best friend being so prejudiced, why couldn’t he just trust him on this and believe Draco had changed for the better?

Harry sighed. Because he was Ron, that was why. The Malfoys and Weasleys had never for as long as he knew them been civil with each other. On top of that was that Ron didn’t like it when things didn’t work out the way he wanted them to. Neither breaking up with Ginny nor being friends with Draco was what Ron wanted so he was pissed off.

 

_Oh shit_. Draco’s head collided with the table with a dull thud. That had really worked out perfectly. Now Harry had an argument with his friends just because Draco had smiled at him trying to cheer him up a bit. He had only made it worse.

When Harry stormed out of the Great Hall Draco had the sudden urge to follow him but he suppressed it. If he followed him at all he would do so after Transfigurations. He doubted Harry would show up for the class so he would just bring him the notes after class. He knew Harry would need all the details he could get to successfully transform into an Animagus. Mind made up he got up from the table, his breakfast still untouched, and made his way to the Transfiguration classroom.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayye, a new chapter. There's a lot of talking in this one but I think it was necessary. Kudos and comments are always appreciated.

After what seemed like an eternity for Harry, he saw Draco walking across the lawn and up to him.

“You missed Transfigurations,” he stated.

“I know. I needed some time on my own. I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on another theory lesson after what happened at breakfast.”

“You can copy my notes. We learned about a lot important details on Animagi and I know you want to become one so…”

“What? Why?” Harry asked, confused. He couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Draco Malfoy of all people was suddenly nice to him. Not that Harry would complain, after all the incredible coldness subsided whenever he was near Draco.

“Because you missed Transfigurations and want to become an Animagus. So, you’ll need the notes from today’s lesson.” Draco stated the obvious, an easy smile on his lips.

“Yeah I know that. But why would you give me your notes?”

“Because it’s my fault you missed Transfigurations? Because it’s the right thing to do? Because you sure as hell wouldn’t want to copy Weas- sorry, Ronald’s notes?”

“Did you just apologize to me because you were about to call Ron by his last name? You have really changed for the better, Draco. I’m impressed.” Harry smiled up at him warmly.

“That’d better be no sarcasm.” Draco said.

“It isn’t. I appreciate your effort, honestly. And my fight with Ron wasn’t your fault. Maybe your smile was what caused it but only Ron is responsible for his actions.” Harry explained. “And about these Transfigurations notes… can you give them to me tonight in the library? I won’t have the time to look at them before that.”

Draco was stunned. It certainly _was_ his fault that Weasley had snapped at Harry.

“Sure.” He said and slid the notes in his bag.

“Well… thanks I guess. For both the smile and the notes… I better go now… Care of Magical Creatures… I don’t wanna miss another class today.”

Draco smiled at Harry’s obvious struggle to find the appropriate words. It was cute how simply nice gestures could make him so uncomfortable.

“Yeah… so… see you tonight.”

Merlin he wasn’t any better when it came to talking Harry, how embarrassing.

 

When Draco got to the library that night Harry wasn’t there. He found a short note lying on the table instead.

_I’m on the Astronomy tower. Maybe we can talk and not study tonight._

_HP_

Draco read the note twice and then a third time but the content didn’t change. Harry wanted to talk. Talking meant questions, didn’t it? Questions Draco wasn’t sure he wanted to answer just yet. And he didn’t want to drive Harry away with telling him about them being life mates.

But the note didn’t say he had a few questions, right? He was a Gryffindor after all; he would phrase the things the way he meant them. So maybe he really just wanted to talk. Draco had no idea why he would want to talk to him of all people but he made his way over to the Astronomy tower, his heart beating fast in his chest even before he had climbed what felt like a million stairs up to the top. The door leading to the room there was slightly opened. Harry sat on one of the windowsills.

Draco slowly opened the door and stepped through, shutting it after him. Harry looked at him a little startled.

“You’re here. I had feared I did the wrong thing after all.” He said when he had recovered.

“I’m here. What did you want to talk about?” Draco asked. He still wasn’t sure whether he had done the right thing, coming up here. It wasn’t like he had any happy memories connected to this place. Rather in the contrary. Dumbledore had died here.

“I don’t know… anything, really… I just don’t want to dwell on my fight with Ron anymore.” Harry’s voice yanked him out of the thoughts of the past.

“So, giving you my Transfiguration notes wouldn’t be a good idea I guess.”

“Could you put them in my bag? It’s over there.” Harry pointed at a chair in one of the corners.

“Sure. But remember, I’m not your house elf.” Draco said with a smile and took the notes out of his back to put them in Harry’s.

Harry chuckled. “I know that… it’s just… I don’t wanna move right now.”

 

Draco transfigured one of the uncomfortable chairs into a couch and sat on it.

“So… we could talk about flying. Not Quidditch but flying.” he offered once he had thought over possible conversation topics that wouldn’t get uncomfortable for either of them. There were surprisingly few.

“I would like that. That’s one of the things Ron wouldn’t understand, you know? Why I enjoy flying away from any competition I mean.”

“Because it makes you feel free. Because at some point you feel like you can do everything. Because you’re up in the air like a bird.”

“Exactly. I knew you would understand it.” Harry smiled warmly.

“I think it’s a Seeker thing. Feeling this strong about flying.”

“I don’t think so. Cho was only ever in it for the competition. I think it’s just our thing. Another thing we have in common.”

“I think we have to stop with that. Maybe we would find out we could be friends after all and that would be a scandal.” Draco smirked.

“Oh no! Someone should call Skeeter! Malfoy and Potter are friends!” Harry exclaimed mock-scandalized.

Both boys broke out laughing.

“ _The Golden Boy befriends the Death Eater! Will the Wizarding World come to an end?_ It would be front page news!”

“As if I haven’t been front page news for the last seven years.” Harry said his tone suddenly serious. “Oh, what is Harry Potter now up to? And how about his love life? Why don’t we speculate and publish lies on every bit of Potter we get?”

“It was always quite entertaining to be honest. How much of it was actually true?”

“My name. That was about it. Except that article we made Skeeter write.”

“You _made_ Skeeter write a true article about you?” Draco was astonished. That was a feat not even his father had achieved in all the years of manipulating the press.

“Hermione did. We found out about her unregistered bug Animagus. That was excellent blackmail material.” Harry said, his voice hinting at a little pride.

 

“You, Potter, get into the strangest situations.” Draco grinned wide. Harry had to admit he liked this unguarded side of Draco. It made him much more likeable.

“Believe me, I know that. I have a strange talent for that.” He told him. “And you know what one of the perks of being my friend is? You’re right in the middle of it.”

“Yes, attention, the only thing we Malfoys love more than ourselves!”

That made Harry giggle again.

“So… we’re friends then?” Draco asked.

“Yes. But maybe I should tell at least Hermione before the press gets to know about it. I don’t think Ron will talk to me in the next few days.”

_Now that was easy_ , Draco thought. _But what comes now will be a hell lot more work._

 

Harry smiled. He had never felt like he needed a friend like Draco but now that they were friends he wondered why they had spent so much time being enemies. Talking to Draco was somehow easier than to any of his friends. He felt like Draco was the first one who really understood him.

 

“So…” Draco ended the silence that had settled between them. “Is there any special reason you want to become an Animagus?”

“Uh… My father and his friends became Animagi when they were still at school… It’s a pretty stupid reason, I know but… I feel like I would be closer to my father if I mastered it.” Harry explained and shrugged.

“Well I think it’s a great reason. We all need a way to pay our tribute to the dead, don’t you think?”

“Now that you put it that way…” Harry smiled. “What do you do to pay your tribute?”

“Well… I thought about donating money to all the orphan homes that opened after the war. But showing off money was my father’s favourite pastime. Then I decided that I wanted to become a Mind Healer so I could actively help with the trauma from the war and the domestic abuse that happened in many of the Pureblood families. But I’m almost certain that no one will take me as an apprentice, killing or no I still have the Mark.”

“I’m sure someone will. And if not you could always learn it from the books or from a Muggle Healer or both and then open your own practice.”

“And you think that would work? That people would actually see me? I’m not exactly well liked on both sides of the war.”

“Someone will look beyond their prejudices and maybe they will tell their friends and they will tell their friends. It might take some time but I think it will work out eventually if you really want it to.”

“Thanks, Harry,” Draco said, flustered by how nice the other boy suddenly was.

“It’s what friends do, right? Tell each other their dreams are valid and help each other to fulfil them.”

“Still, thank you. It means a lot that my dreams are approved by the Great Harry Potter,” Draco teased.

“Oh, stop it, you! I’m blushing.” They broke out into giggles once again.

When they had calmed down again, Harry got up from his place on the windowsill and sat down next to Draco on the transfigured couch and pulled Draco’s Transfiguration notes out of his bag again.

“So… what did you learn in Transfigurations today?” Harry asked and Draco smiled.

“Here, let me explain.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind comments on the last chapter, they really kept me going. Here's a new chapter as a reward. Please keep commenting.  
> I fear it's pretty heavy on dialogue again but there's still so much to explain.

The next nights went by in much the same fashion, some they spent in the library studying and others on top of the Astronomy Tower talking about everything and nothing.

Two weeks after their first meeting in the library Draco made a decision. He would tell Harry about his Dragon inheritance and everything that had to do with it. Tonight. Now. They sat on the transfigured couch on top of the Astronomy Tower again and he fiddled with the hem of his robes nervously, not sure how to approach the topic.

“Draco? Are you okay?” Harry asked with a worried expression etched into his face.

“Yeah… Harry? I want to tell you something.”

“Okay…” Harry was confused. They had just laughed together. Why was Draco so serious all of a sudden?

“Have you been feeling extremely cold in the last months? Since you got onto the Hogwarts Express at the start of term to be precise?”

Harry nodded. How did Draco know about that? He hadn’t told anyone besides Ron and Hermione and they had brushed it off as his imagination.

“And it has always gotten better whenever you were around me?”

“Yes. What is this, Draco?”

“My Dragon inheritance. You’re my destined life mate, my Drakhono.” Draco said calmly as if it were an everyday occurrence.

“I am what?” Draco’s explanations did nothing to ease his confusion.

“My Drakhono. You could translate it to companion, that’s the English word that comes nearest to it but it’s a bit more than that.”

“Is it like… with Veelas?”

“Not at all. Being the life mate of a Dragon Child is quite different to being a Veela’s soul mate. The only thing we Dragon Children and Veelas have in common is probably that we are both Magical Creatures. Dragon Children are also very rare. There’s only one every 13th generation of humans. I don’t know much but the only book on it I found said it would mostly be a matter of trusting my instincts.”

“And about being life mates…Do we… you know… have to have sex?” Harry asked hesitantly. He really didn’t want that. He would do it in case it was necessary but he didn’t want to do it. It had nothing to do with Draco; he just didn’t find the idea of sex appealing at all.

“It’s not necessary. The Dragon Child only wants to be with his mate as much as possible and as close as possible. That’s why you feel so cold whenever you’re not around me. I always feel extremely hot by the way. And in the beginning they want to be alone with their mate to get to know them better. That is why we feel so uncomfortable around other people. They want a companion they can share their life and their dreams with. Everything more than that is up to us.”

Harry sighed relieved. When Draco had started talking about the whole Mate business he had been sure there would be things he had to do and things he couldn’t do like there had been his whole life but from what Draco had told him it was rather easy. And he really had no problem with spending his time with Draco as much as possible and not only to keep the cold at bay. In the past weeks Draco had turned out to be a really good friend, even better than Hermione or Ron at several occasions.

“Alright,” he said, “that’s fine with me.”

Draco just looked at him, blinking. “You… you really are okay with it?”

“Yes. If you don’t have any nasty surprises up your sleeve, I’ll be happy to be your mate.”

“Well…” Draco twiddled with the hem of his robes. “There’s _something_ but I’m not ready to tell you, yet. But I will tell you, I promise.”

Harry smiled warmly at him. “It’s okay, Draco.”

Draco smiled back. Harry really was too good for him.

“We should go now. I plan to tell McGonagall first thing tomorrow morning and I’d like to be awake then.”

“Yeah, we should.” Harry agreed. “Let’s just hope we don’t have nightmares until then.”

They parted ways at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the top of the Astronomy tower after they had agreed to inform the Headmistress about their situation right after breakfast.

That night the coldness wasn’t as bad as it used to be for Harry. Knowing that it would soon be gone completely made him look forward to the next day for once.

 

The next morning they both had breakfast with their respective friends, Ron hadn’t been able to accept Harry’s friendship with Draco so Harry sat with only Hermione and Neville who had both adapted rather fast after Draco had apologized for the things he had done to them. When they were both finished with their breakfast they went up to the Head Table to talk to the Headmistress.

“What is so important, gentlemen that you need to interrupt my breakfast?” McGonagall asked as they approached her.

“We need to talk to you… in private.” It was impressive how his former Head of House still intimidated Harry sometimes.

“Then you shall wait for me in my office. I take it you still know the password, Mr. Potter?”

“Yes, headmistress.” Draco shot Harry a surprised look. Why would he know the password to the headmistress’ office? He made a mental note to ask him about that later, maybe when they finally had their own rooms.

“Good, I will join you once I’m finished.”

The walk to the Headmistress’ office was spent in companionable silence.

“Catnip.” Harry said and the gargoyle slid aside.

Draco just stared at Harry in disbelief and followed him up the winding staircase.

 

McGonagall joined them a few minutes later and ushered them into the office.

“Now, gentlemen. What did you want to discuss with me before class started?”

“As my mother has already told you at the beginning of the year, I am a Dragon Child and have come into my inheritance on my 18th birthday. And now that I have found my mate we will need our own rooms.” Draco explained.

“And what is Mr. Potter doing here?”

“He’s my mate.” Draco stated matter-of-factly.

McGonagall looked at them in disbelief.

“Mr. Potter, is this true?”

“Yes, headmistress. I’ve been feeling cold for the last few months and it is only going away whenever I’m near Draco.”

“And I believe you feel something similar, Mr. Malfoy?”

“Yes, with the only exception that I’m feeling hot whenever I’m not around Harry.”

“Of course. I will let the house elves set up rooms in the corridor for Magical Creatures for you. They should be ready around lunch. You can go to the Room of Requirement until then as I will excuse you from classes until Monday so you can settle in properly. Winky will show your rooms as soon as they’re set up and will also tend to your wishes as long as you’re at Hogwarts.”

“Thank you, headmistress.”

“You shall go now,” the Headmistress dismissed them.

 

On their way to the Room of Requirement, Draco had a sudden thought.

“Did you already tell your friends about this?” he gestured between the two of them.

“I told them about us being friends but not about your inheritance.” Harry said.

A wide grin spread on Draco’s face. “Could you tell them when I’m around? I want to see Weasley’s face when you tell him."

“I won’t be telling him.”

“Why not? I think your friends deserve to know, don’t you?”

“Because he snapped at me for daring to befriend his mortal enemy.”

Draco snorted. “I’m his mortal enemy? Really?”

“That’s what he said.”

“That’s brilliant, now you really have to tell him.”

“And why is that?”

“It’s a great honor to have a Dragon Child in the family as it isn’t determined by blood or blood purity but by the level of magic the person possesses. The Dragon Child and their mate are the most powerful in their generation. Weasley will be incredibly jealous, I’m sure.”

 

In the mean time they had reached the seventh floor and faced the blank wall where the door to the Room of Requirement would appear.

Harry walked up and down in front of the wall three times but nothing happened. He tried it again, concentrating on a comfy sitting room but no door appeared.

“Fuck!”

“Let me.” Draco offered.

Draco, too, tried to make the room appear twice but again nothing happened.

Harry knew there had to be something wrong. Headmistress McGonagall had told them to go to the Room of Requirement so it just _had_ to be there. She would’ve told them it was still damaged if that had been the case. And as everyone else was in class there should be no reason for it not to open for them.

Harry sat down on the floor and banged his head against the wall. Draco sat down next to him.

“So, what do we do now?” Draco asked.

“I don’t know. Sitting here waiting until lunch?” Harry suggested.

“Oh what a creative idea that is, Mr. Potter!” Draco mocked. “And while we’re at it we could count the bricks in the wall.”

“Prat. Why don’t we go flying? I haven’t been on a broom in ages and now that we can’t be on the Quidditch team anymore it would be nice to be in the air again.”

“Alright. Just flying or a Seeker’s Game?”

“Just flying. I’ll meet you at the pitch in twenty.”

 

Harry went to Gryffindor tower to pick up his broom and a cloak, the October air was already quite cold after all. Then he hurried down the endless stairs and went to the Quidditch pitch where Draco was already waiting impatiently.

“Potter. About time. I wanted to be in the air before lunch started.” He drawled.

Harry just smiled and set off into the crisp air. It felt brilliant to be on a broom again, he had really missed it in the past year.

“Catch me if you can!” he dared Draco before he rose up in the air, certain that any moment now he would be touching the clouds.

Draco wasn’t far behind and soon they glided through the air side by side, enjoying the feeling of the air on their skin and freedom in their hearts.

“This is brilliant!” Harry exclaimed and shot down just to come up again a minute later.

Draco just smiled at his antics. Harry was still as enthusiastic about flying as he had been in their first flying lesson.

When they got cold despite their repeatedly casted Warming Charms they got back to the ground where the small figure of a house elf was already waiting for them.

“Master Potter, Master Malfoy.” It addressed them. “Me is Winky. Winky is being your house elf now. McGonagall told Wink to show Masters to their rooms.”

“Thank you, Winky,” Harry said and let the house elf lead them to the castle and through several corridors Harry had never seen before until she finally stopped in front of a painting of a blue dragon.

“This is being your rooms, Masters. McGonagall is telling Winky to serve you until you is leaving Hogwarts.” The elf explained.

“Thank you, Winky. We will call you should we need something. Our meals will be brought up here, I believe?”

“Yes, Master Draco. And no one but you and the house elves is to enter this part of the castle.”

“Thank you, Winky. You can go now.” Draco dismissed her.

Winky bowed so low her nose almost touched the floor and disappeared again with a small _pop_.

 

Draco pulled the painting aside and they entered their rooms. Harry became wide-eyed. The sitting room they were standing in was huge.

“Draco? Is this all ours?” Harry asked completely in awe.

“Yes. Magical Creatures get special treatment at Hogwarts because they’re so rare. But I have to admit I didn’t expect this either. This is almost as spacious as the sitting rooms at home.”

“You’re used to having so much space?”

“I’ve lived in Malfoy Manor all my life. In case you hadn’t noticed it is fucking huge. I have an entire wing on my own. If I wanted to I wouldn’t have to see my parents for days.”

Harry had the sudden urge to smack his head. Draco was of course used to having this much. He had seen the proportions of Malfoy Manor and the surrounding grounds with his own eyes when they had been held hostage there in the war. But instead of doing so he just smiled what he hoped was an easy smile and tried not to feel uncomfortable.

Draco still noticed it. “What is bothering you, Harry?” he asked carefully.

“It’s not important. I’m just not used to having this much space on my own.” Harry murmured, wanting Draco to know but not wanting his pity.

“It’s okay. Just tell me if there’s anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable here. We have to live here for the rest of the year after all.”

Harry nodded and gave a weak but honest smile. He was grateful Draco didn’t ask him questions he didn’t want to answer; it was a refreshing change from the Gryffindor directness he had lived with since First Year.

“Shall we explore our quarters or have lunch first?” he asked Harry instead. Harry’s stomach answered him instantly, growling loudly.

“Alright, then let’s have lunch first.” Draco decided smiling.

That said, two plates and bowls full of deliciously smelling food appeared on the table in the middle of the room.

They sat down opposite of each other and enjoyed their first meal in months without feeling uneasy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, Comments and Kudos are very appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have finished another chapter! I'm really in a writing mood right now. And I gave up on trying to write less dialogue, it just doesn't work for me.
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated.

Right after they had finished lunch they got up again to explore the rooms they had been given. Right next to the dining table was a small kitchen they both agreed they wouldn’t need. With their homework load and the addition of having to learn about Dragon Children in general and their bond specifically they both decided they wouldn’t have much time to cook and would call Winky should they want to eat in their rooms once they went back to classes.

The wall on the far side of the room was adorned with three enchanted windows that showed a view of the Black Lake and the grounds surrounding it. In front of the windows stood a grand piano.

“Draco?” Harry asked. “Is that your piano?”

“Yeah. I hope you don’t mind. It’s always been in my rooms at Hogwarts during term so I could practice even when I was away from home.”

“No, it’s okay.” Harry assured him. “I was just surprised, is all.”

Opposite the piano was a small sitting area consisting of two armchairs and a loveseat arranged around a fireplace. On the same wall were two doors leading to their bedroom and bathroom that were both just as spacious as the living area.

What surprised Harry this time was not the space they had but the fact that two separate beds were standing in the bedroom. Draco caught Harry’s questioning gaze.

“I told you it’s not about sex. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

Harry shot him a grateful smile.

 

Back in the living area Draco sat down in one of the comfortable armchairs, lighting the fire with a swish of his wand and continued reading the book on Dragon Children and their Drakhono his mother had given him when he had first complained about the heat. It was more of an autobiography, really. And it was more than 400 years old. But it was the only thing that could help him with this.

“What are you reading?” Harry asked, leaning on the back of the chair.

“The autobiography of the last Dragon Child. It’s the only book on what will happen to me or to us and how to deal with it. My mother tracked it down for me once I came into my inheritance.”

“And? Does it help?”

“Yeah. A lot actually. Everything I told you last night I read about in this book. You should definitely read it, too, especially the part that was written by her mate.”

“Okay. Just give it to me when you’re done.”

Draco just nodded and went back to reading. He was really grateful the book wasn’t written in as dry a tone as their school books neither as stuck up as one expected books of this age to be.

Meanwhile Harry started reading the notes of their missed classes that had been delivered into their quarters when they had been looking around in one of the other rooms.

He still didn’t know what to make of Slughorn’s Potions Class, even after almost two months of classes. The man was definitely a more pleasant Professor but not as qualified, by a long shot. They wanted to be prepared for their NEWTs; they needed someone with Snape’s skill. Because that he had, Harry had to admit. Maybe he could ask Draco to tutor him.

“Draco?”

Draco put the book aside again. “Yeah?”

“Would you tutor me in Potions?”

“And what’s in it for me?” Draco demanded.

“I could tutor you in Defense.” Harry offered.

“Then we have a deal.”

They continued to work in silence until Winky brought their dinner. His homework long since finished due to a lack of things to do, Harry was currently engrossed in the latest issue of _Quidditch Weekly_ and jumped almost three feet in the air when the elf appeared.

Draco looked up from the book in his lap and laughed heartily.

“The Great Harry Potter, scared by a simple house elf! The world is coming to an end!”

“Oh shut up!” Harry grumbled but couldn’t keep from grinning. Startled by a house elf, how utterly pathetic, even for someone with his standards.

“Why do you even still read Quidditch Weekly when you’ve stopped playing?” Draco asked a few minutes into dinner.

“Just because I stopped playing doesn’t mean I’m not interested in Quidditch anymore. I would go to a game anytime, just not play myself.” Harry answered calmly. He had been asked that same question several times before when he had read the magazine in the Gryffindor common room.

“We could go to a game together in the Christmas holidays, if you wanted to.”

Harry smiled at the offer. “Sure, I would like that.”

“I hope the Falcons are playing, they’re my favourite team. What is yours, by the way?”

“The Chudley Cannons…” Harry mumbled.

“What?” Draco almost jumped over the table at Harry.

“I know… I know…” Harry tried to soothe. “It’s the Weasleys’ family team and as I’m an honorary family member it seemed logical at the time. I’m willing to learn though.”

“That’s good because you’re an honorary Malfoy as well now and Malfoys won’t ever cheer for an abysmal team clad in garish orange.”

“Woah, that was a fast promotion!” Harry joked.

“Well, I’m the Head of House now that my father received the Kiss. And as my Drakhono you definitely deserve to be an honorary family member. Speaking of that, you should also dress like a Malfoy. We will go to Hogsmeade to get you new clothes this weekend if that’s alright with you.”

Harry laughed at that.

“What?” Draco raised one eyebrow.

“I knew this was coming. Since you told me about this whole thing yesterday I just waited for you to tell me to get new clothes. But, sure, we can go. I just didn’t buy a new wardrobe already because it would only be a decent size, not a decent style.”

“That would’ve been a waste of money indeed. But never say die! You have me as your personal fashion coach now and we’ll get you a nice new wardrobe that will hopefully not turn too many heads.”

They continued to banter good naturedly until their eyes almost fell close on their own accord. They fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillows.

Harry dreamed about the dragon again. They were soaring through the air over Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest. When the dragon landed back on his feet and Harry had climbed off again it transformed in front of his eyes into Draco.

 

At breakfast the next morning Harry told Draco about his dream and also the one he had had weeks before.

Draco just looked at him in disbelief.

“You… you mean to say… that maybe I can transform into a dragon?”

“Well, it was a dream, so everything could happen but it had your eyes and its scales had the exact same colour as your hair. And it felt too real to be a simple dream. It was almost like I was back in Voldemort’s head just very less hostile.”

“I will try to find something about it in the diary and then we can maybe try it. But we have to go somewhere no one will see us, I don’t really want that getting out.”

“Of course. I have just the location. That is, if you’re not reluctant to go into the Forbidden Forest.”

 

After reading a few more pages in the diary Draco found indeed that he should be able to transform into a Dragon. It was mostly a matter of concentration and imagination and similar to the Animagus transformation.

They decided to go to the Forbidden Forest for Draco to try it on the weekend after they had been in Hogsmeade. Today though they had to explain to Ron and Hermione why Harry wasn’t living in Gryffindor tower anymore. Harry was sure they had already noticed that his trunk had disappeared and he just wasn’t already being interrogated yet because no one but them and the house elves could enter the wing they lived in.

Draco had no such problems as he had been the only Slytherin to come back for their Eights Year. He was more than glad for it. Telling Pansy in a letter about being bonded to Harry Potter of all people was much easier than doing it face to face.

He called for his owl while Harry wrote a short note to his friends. Draco would write his letters to both his mother and his best friend in the evening, provided he didn’t land himself in the hospital as a result of a legendary crash with Weasley’s temper.

Half an hour later they received a note from a school owl. Hermione and Ron had agreed to meet them in an old Charms classroom in their free period after lunch to hear about the new situation.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a new chapter for you guys! I hope you enjoy it. Kudos and comments are appreciated.

On their way to the Charms classroom Harry got slower and slower until he finally stopped in the middle of the corridor.

Draco turned around and looked at him questioningly.

“I can’t do this, Draco. What if they don’t want to be my friends anymore? Or what if Ron just wants to make amends because I’m your Drakhono and thus extremely powerful?”

“If they did that they wouldn’t be very good friends to begin with, don’t you think?”

Harry shrugged. Ron and Hermione had been his friends right from the beginning and he had never asked himself whether they were good friends or not. They were his friends and that was it. But he understood where Draco was coming from.

They walked on and soon they had reached the room they had agreed to meet in. Hermione and Ron weren’t there yet, so Harry and Draco sat down on top of two neighbouring desks to wait for them to come.

Seeing Harry’s distress about the impending conversation Draco offered his hand for Harry to take in silent comfort. Harry took it and instantly felt better. Taking comfort in Draco was really something he could get used to.

A few minutes later the door opened and Hermione and Ron walked in with Luna, Ginny and Neville in tow.

“I hope it’s okay we brought them, Harry.” Hermione hurried to say. “They were with us when we got your owl and wanted to know what happened with you.”

Harry nodded curtly. This way they had to tell the tale one time less often.

Once they had all found a place to sit, Draco began to speak.

“I want to begin with apologizing to all of you. I’ve been a right git the last seven years and I’m sorry for that. From what Harry told me you’re all great people. I hope we can start anew if just for Harry’s sake because I would hate for him to lose his friends just because he is my Drakhono.”

Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna gasped. They had all heard stories about the Dragon Children in their childhood, about their power and of course their rarity. Hermione just looked at him confused.

“I don’t understand. Harry is what?”

“Draco is a Dragon Child and Harry is his mate.” Ron explained with a frown on his face.

This did nothing to ease Hermione’s confusion however. She looked at Draco in the hope he would elaborate on it.

Draco retold the information that was widely known about, not wanting to recount the details he had read about in the diary because he found that was no one’s business but his and Harry’s.

Hermione nodded in understanding and then went off to do research in the library.

Neville was the first to speak again.

“I accept your apology, Malfoy. I don’t think we will ever be friends but I will try to get along with you for Harry’s sake.” He extended his hand for Draco to take. Draco took it and shook it once.

“Thank you, Longbottom.”

Ron scowled.

“How can you do that, Neville? This is Malfoy, the guy who tormented us for years. He doesn’t even have proof that he is a Dragon Child and you’re just going to believe him?”

“Yes.” Neville said decisively. He wasn’t the insecure, scared child anymore and he would not let Ron influence his decisions. “He apologized and Harry trusts him, that’s good enough for me.”

“Thanks, Neville.” Harry smiled. It felt good that at least one of his friends trusted him with this.

“It’s nice to see you and Draco not fighting for once, Harry.” Luna chimed in. “I’m glad you overcame your own stupidity.”

Harry and Draco both chuckled at that comment. They were however stunned into silence when Luna walked uo to them and hugged first Harry and then, to everyone’s surprise, Draco.

“I don’t blame you for the things that happened to me at your home.” She whispered low enough that only the two boys could hear her. “I never did.”

“Thank you, Lovegood. It means a lot.” Only years of Malfoy training kept a silent tear escaping from Draco’s eyes. Those people he had bullied for years were forgiving him so easily and he just didn’t know how to take it.

Harry took Draco’s hand back in his, sensing that he needed the support to not break down where people would see him.

Both Ginny and Ron still doubted Draco’s honesty.

“I don’t trust you, Malfoy.” Ron said.

“I know. And you have no reason to. But you trust Harry, right?”

“How can you even ask that, Malfoy?” Ginny spat. “Of course he trusts Harry, Harry is his best friend! But how do we know you don’t have him under Imperius or some kind of mind-controlling potion? You’re a Slytherin after all. You would do everything to get in the good graces of the Light side!”

“First of all, he can’t be under Imperius because one, he can shake it off and two, he would have glazed eyes which he doesn’t. And he can’t have taken a potion either because let’s be honest; he would never take a potion I gave him and one can’t mix a mind-controlling potion with food because they are very delicate and would be spoiled.” Satisfied with his argument, Draco put on his trademark Malfoy sneer.

Ron spluttered, searching for a counter argument but unable to find one.

“Okay, you win Malfoy but if you even think about hurting Harry I will have your head and gladly hang it alongside the house elf heads in Grimmauld Place.”

Draco let a smile play on his lips. “I expected nothing less.”

Ginny just shot him a dark look, not wanting to admit defeat. Then they turned around and left the room.

“Well that went better than I expected.” Draco said once he was sure they were out of earshot.

Harry smiled. “Yeah, it did. I never thought Neville and Luna would accept this so easily.”

“Me neither. But I told you Dragon children are a rarity and most Purebloods would give anything to get to know one of them and profit from their power in one way or another.”

“So you think they only did it because they want to use our power for themselves?”

“Lovegood, Longbottom and Granger; I don’t think so. The Weasleys? Maybe. In the last seven years I sometimes got the impression that they were only your friends because of your name. But we’ll deal with that when we get there. For now everything’s handled.”

They walked back to their rooms in silence, ignoring the strange looks they were getting for not hexing each other. Upon entering their rooms they both flopped down on an armchair. Their conversation had went well but that didn’t mean it hadn’t been mentally exhausting and they were both glad it was over and done with.

 

The last two days before the weekend went by fairly quickly. They talked a lot, caught up on their class- and homework, went flying a few times, Draco practised on the piano while Harry continued to study to achieve his Animagus form and they were generally just having a good time, basking in the closeness their new relationship brought them.

Come Saturday they got ready to face the school for the first time during breakfast before they would go to Hogsmeade to do some much needed clothes shopping for Harry.

Draco followed Harry to the Gryffindor table, not wanting to be apart from him after days of just the two of them in their rooms. Luna was there too and she and Neville made room for them to sit next to each other. Draco shot both of them a grateful smile, still astounded how well they were taking their new bond, and then sat down next to Harry.

The rest of Gryffindor table wasn’t as accepting, however. Draco could feel the looks of loathing and hate they were giving him no matter how much he concentrated on his plate.

He felt Harry’s hand on his arm and looked up. Harry smiled at him reassuringly. “They don’t matter. Now eat up, the sooner we’re done the sooner we can get away from here.”

Draco smiled back and concentrated on his breakfast again. He really had no desire to sit on Gryffindor table any longer than necessary.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments on the last chapter, reading them always makes me smile.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated.

Their walk to Hogsmeade was uneventful. It wasn’t Hogsmeade weekend but the Eight Years were allowed to leave the school grounds on weekends so they met very few people on their way down to the village.

Once there Draco took the lead and steered Harry in the direction of one of the newly opened shops.

“Good morning, Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy.” The shop keeper greeted them. Draco had to cut him some slack that he didn’t sneer at the sight of him but that was probably more because Harry was there and the fact that the Malfoy family still had a lot of money, than because he had no problem with Draco or the Malfoys or Death Eaters in general.

“What can I do for you?”

“Harry here needs a completely new wardrobe.” Draco shoved Harry in front of him, a slightly sadistic grin on his face when he saw the uneasiness flicker in Harry’s eyes.

“Of course, Mr Malfoy, if you would follow me.”

Harry spent the next hours trying any clothes imaginable while Draco deemed not even half of them appropriate. By lunch time they left the shop with several shrunken bags and made their way over to the Dragon Lair, the new italian restaurant that had opened in Hogsmeade after the war.

They both ordered a Butterbeer before trying to decide on a meal from the extensive lunch menu.

“Let’s try something new and then share.” Harry suggested after some minutes of staring at the meal, unable to decide.

“Okay.” Draco smiled.

They finally decided on _Artichoke and Sausage Pasta_ and _Flatbread with Caramelized Onions, Portobello Mushrooms, and Gorgonzola Crumbles_ *.

After their filling meal they went back onto the Hogwarts grounds and then into the Forbidden Forest. Now Harry was in the lead, walking onto the clearing where he had defeated Voldemort for good. He felt some kind of closure, coming back to the place where he had met his destiny and saved the world.

“Voila!” he said and spun around in the middle of the clearing.

Draco grinned at his antics. “I think this will do. Now I just have to figure out how to transform.”

“I think you should start with meditation, McGonagall said it is crucial in the process of becoming an Animagus because it helps immensely with concentration.”

“Alright.” Draco sat down on the moss on the ground, cross-legged and closed his eyes, slowly falling into a state of meditation.

Once his mind was clear he could see a dragon in the distance, surrounded by thick fog. He concentrated on the image and it gradually became bigger and the fog lifted slowly until a beautiful, elegant, almost white dragon stood in front of him, swinging his tail lazily. He imagined getting up and embracing the dragon and when he touched the first scales with his fingertips he could feel his body change. When he opened his eyes again, he was the dragon and lazily swung his tail and flapped his wings to get familiar with the foreign body parts.

“ _It worked_.” He said but he was sure the growl he emitted was not English.

“ _You look just like the dragon in my dream_.” Harry replied, growling as well.

“ _You can understand me?_ ” Draco wondered. He knew of course that Harry was a Parselmouth but this Dragon language was completely different to Parseltongue.

“ _Of course I can understand you, why shouldn’t…_ ” that was the moment Harry realized they weren’t talking in English, “… _oh. Yeah, I can understand you, loud and clear. It’s a little like hearing and speaking Parsel. I’d think it is some special Drakhono ability_.”

“ _I’m sure it is. It would be kind of unfortunate if we couldn’t communicate when I’m in my Dragon form._ ” The little laugh Draco uttered sounded strange and more like a yowl than anything else.

Harry stepped closer to the dragon and gently put a hand on the scales on his chest. He could still see the scars his _Sectumsempra_ curse had left in Sixth Year.

“ _I’m sorry, Draco_.”

Draco leaned down, his snout touching Harry’s forehead. “ _There’s nothing to apologize for. I wanted to cast Crucio on you and you defended yourself._ ” He growled in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

_“But… I almost killed you.”_

_“But you didn’t. Stop blaming yourself for everything, we all did things we weren’t proud of, it was a war.”_

“ _Why are you so stubborn?_ ” Harry asked and grinned.

“ _Asks the most stubborn Gryffindor I have ever met… If I weren’t so stubborn, you would never stop feeling guilty for all the things that were out of your control_.”

“ _Thanks, Draco_.”

“ _You’re welcome. I wanna try out flying, you wanna come?_ ”

“ _I’d love to_.”

Without further warning Draco took the collar of Harry’s robes in his mouth and heaved him onto his back.

_“Comfortable, Mr Potter?”_ Draco asked and when Harry nodded he followed his instincts and took off from the ground. He flew a few circles close to the ground until he felt familiar enough with his wings to try and rise higher in the air until they were on eye level with the treetops.

Harry laughed happily. This was way better than in his dreams. Draco enjoyed it greatly as well. He had never liked the restrictions of a broom, had always dreamed of sprouting wings and just flying away and now that he was finally able to he was beyond happy. Add to that the warm feeling of Harry on his back and this was easily the best day in his life so far.

After a few minutes filled with whoops of joy from Harry, Draco went back down, again circling above the ground a few times before he set down gently. He heaved Harry off his back again and then transformed back into his human form.

“This was brilliant!” Harry exclaimed and threw his arms around Draco’s neck. Draco just smiled and hugged Harry back, basking in the happiness and joy of his Drakhono.

They stayed on the clearing until the sun went down. Then they picked up their things again and went back to the castle, happy smiles still etched into their faces.

They had dinner in their rooms, not wanting to face the school again before they had to. After that Harry finished his Potions essay that was due Monday with only a minimum of help from Draco.

“See, it’s not that difficult.” Draco said smiling as Harry rolled up the scrolls and put everything in his bag.

“Yeah. It’s like cooking but you have to be a lot more precise.”

“Severus would kill you for saying Potions is like cooking.” Draco said grinning but when he remembered that Severus was dead and they were now taught by Slughorn it morphed into a frown.

Harry got up from his seat and hugged Draco, not saying anything, just being there for him. When he felt tears soak his shirt he began to caress Draco’s back in circles, hoping to soothe him.

“I’m sorry,” Draco sniffled, “I never cried about this before.”

“It’s okay to cry, Draco. Even as a Malfoy. Just let it go, no one’s here to see you but me and I won’t judge you.”

“Thank you, Harry.”

Draco buried his face in Harry’s chest again and continued to cry until he had no more tears left. He left Harry’s embrace and when he opened his eyes, he felt a lot lighter, freer than he had ever felt in his life.

Harry smiled at the obvious relief in Draco’s eyes. He pulled his sleeves over his hands and gently wiped away the trails the tears had left on Draco’s cheeks.

“You’re a great friend, Harry.” Draco said and hugged him again.

“I do my best. Now, let’s go to bed, it’s already late. The Potions essay took longer than I had anticipated.”

Draco nodded and they started their nightly routine that ended with them both lying in their respective beds. Then Draco would charm a glowing ball to hover over their beds because they both couldn’t sleep in complete darkness. Harry would whisper a small “thank you” and then they would both fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I got the meals from http://www.italianfoodforever.com/


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter.
> 
> I have to say I'm overwhelmed by all the positive feedback I'm getting. Over 40 comments and almost 200 Kudos for 7 chapters, you guys are amazing. Thank you so much!

The next morning instead of getting up as soon as he opened his eyes, Harry buried himself deeper in the blankets and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep again. It was the last day they would spend locked up in their rooms, come Monday they would attend their classes again and have their meals in the Great Hall. Remembering how that had went the day before at breakfast he just wanted to hide in their rooms forever, NEWTs be damned.

“Harry, you have to get up.” Draco said next to him. “We can’t hide forever.”

“I can bloody well try.” Harry grumbled back.

“That you can do, but it will be hard without your blanket.” In one swift movement Draco pulled Harry’s blanket off his bed and hurried out of the room with it.

“Draco!” Harry shouted but it was of no avail. He got up slowly and padded over to the closet to get dressed in one of the new outfits they had bought, a plain green shirt with fitting black trousers and a simple black leather wristband Draco had insisted they both buy.

He found Draco sitting on the loveseat in front of the fire wrapped in his blanket, grinning.

“I hate you, Draco Malfoy.” He declared with fondness in his voice.

“I know, but please overcome your hatred. We need to be physically close today so we will survive tomorrow. And we have to find a way to stay close during classes.”

“Well that’s easy.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah, I mean, I’ll just have to ditch Divination and go with you to Ancient Runes and sacrifice my free period for Arithmancy. It’s not that bad.”

“And I would go to Care of Magical Creatures with you in my free period. Alright, that actually wasn’t complicated at all. I thought you would put up more of a fight concerning your free period.”

“I really don’t. Arithmancy sounds really interesting and I regret letting Ron talk me into Divination in third year.” Harry explained.

“Okay then. Now we’ll just have to tell McGonagall. Winky!”

Winky appeared in front of them, her head bowed low.

“What can Winky do for Masters?”

“Winky, please tell McGonagall we need to see her after breakfast.” Draco told her.

“Winky will do. Is there anything else Winky can do for Masters?”

“Other than getting us breakfast, no. You can go now.”

The elf bowed again and then vanished into thin air. Seconds later their usual breakfast food appeared on the dining table.

Once they had finished their breakfast they went to the headmistress’ office and Draco remembered that he had wanted to ask Harry how he knew the password.

“She told me, of course. But it’s rather obvious with her Animagus form being a cat, don’t you think?”

Draco smiled. Harry was right, it wasn’t that hard to guess, a lot easier than Dumbledore’s ever-changing Muggle sweets.

McGonagall was already waiting for them when they entered the office.

“What brings you here this morning, gentlemen?”

Draco instantly jumped into the explanation and the headmistress could do nothing more than nod along with the valid points he was making.

“Very well” she said when Draco had finished. “I will see that your needs are accommodated.”

“Thank you, headmistress.” Both boys said and McGonagall just smiled and told them to enjoy their last day away from classes. She was glad that the boys finally got along, had even become friends.

 

Back in their rooms Draco lazily stretched out on the loveseat, enjoying the heat of the fire immensely.

“I never doubted it in the first place but you’re so drawn to the fire you have to be a Dragon Child.” Harry said as he sat down by Draco’s feet.

“I’ve always been cold, for all my life. I practically spent my whole life except for the past month in front of a fire whenever possible.”

“I’ve never been cold, really, even though I’m so skinny. So it was quite the shock to suddenly feel cold in the middle of summer.”

Draco chuckled. “I can believe that. Had I known earlier that you’re a human heater I would’ve tried harder to be your friend.”

“No, you wouldn’t have. But we’re friends now, so in the end you got what you wanted.”

Draco wanted to scowl but Harry was right. They were friends now and that was what mattered.

An insistent _tap tap tap_ interrupted his musings. Looking up, he saw a familiar owl sitting outside the window.

“Mother has written back.” He observed and got up to retrieve the letter.

Without consciously thinking about it, Draco sat back down on the loveseat and leaned back into Harry’s side. Harry stiffened first in surprise but then found that he liked it and relaxed further.

“Mother is happy that I finally found you.” Draco told Harry, still reading the letter. “And she wants us to come to the Manor for lunch next Saturday.”

“Can’t we- I don’t know… meet her somewhere else? A restaurant maybe?” Harry asked, not wanting to relive the horrors he had witnessed in Malfoy Manor.

“I’ll have you know that the Manor house elves… oh. Of course. I’ll tell her to choose a nice restaurant. I’m sorry, Harry. I didn’t think.”

“You’re forgiven. It wasn’t exactly your fault.”

“No, Harry. It is my fault. I should’ve thought about why you wouldn’t want to go to the Manor. I _know_ what happened there to you and your friends. It’s not my fault that you were captured or that the Dark Lord made my home into his operating base but _that_ _is_ my fault.”

“Well… I can’t argue with logic.”

“You are a Gryffindor, you can try.” Draco chuckled.

“I’d rather not. It always leads to terrible results. And it’s so time-wasting.”

“That it is indeed. Now, I’ll write back to my Mother and then we can go flying some more, how’s that?”

“Sounds great.”

 

On the next day, on their way to the Great Hall for breakfast, they were approached by Hermione.

“Good morning, Harry, Malfoy.”

“Good morning Hermione. Was there something you wanted to talk about with us?” Harry inquired.

“I did some research Dragon Children and I just wanted to say that I really have no problem with your friendship. You apologized to us, Malfoy, and I accept that apology but should you harm Harry in any way, rest assured that it will be the last thing that you did.”

Draco smiled at the threat. He was sure she would follow through with it. “I understand, Granger. Harry is your friend, too and you will do everything for him and hurt the people who hurt him. So do I. What I mean is should you hurt Harry in any form or way, be it emotionally or physically I will make sure you will die a very painful and long death.”

“I’m glad we have an understanding, Malfoy.” Hermione said and held out her hand for him to shake. He did so without hesitation.

Harry hugged Hermione, glad he could still call her a friend and the three of them continued their way to breakfast, ignoring the confused looks they got from everyone crossing their path.

They sat at Gryffindor table again. The hostile looks hadn’t diminished but were met by equally hostile looks from Hermione and after some time also Neville. Harry smiled. He couldn’t wish for better friends and he hoped Ron and Ginny would come around as well.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for all the kind comments and all the Kudos. I really love to read them and see that you like my story.

Their first class that day was, of course, Potions. Apparently no one wanted to break the tradition of Potions first thing in the morning for Gryffindors and Slytherins, just that now their whole year sat in the classroom.

After Draco had tutored him a little in Potions Harry was just surer that Slughorn was a mediocre Potions Master. And the end of the lesson only his and Draco’s potion had the described grass green colour and Slughorn was still throwing around O’s and E’s left and right, even Ron got an E for his potion that was more blue than green and in no way usable. He knew now what Snape had meant when he had said that Ron and he were incompetent because just a year ago his Potion would have looked the same.

At lunch Harry had enough of the whispering and the strange looks they were getting wherever they went. He climbed on top of the table and cast a _Sonorus_ charm so everyone would hear him.

“Yes, Draco Malfoy and I are friends. No, Draco Malfoy is not a Death Eater. And no, he hasn’t drugged or bespelled me in any kind or way. Thank you for your attention.”

Then he got back down from the table and continued with his lunch.

 

Once they were alone in their rooms again after dinner, Draco started laughing. He laughed and laughed and couldn’t stop.

“Draco, what is so funny?” Harry asked.

“It’s just… they all went completely silent when you climbed on the table during lunch and…” another fit of laughter interrupted him. “It was so funny to see all their faces when they realized that you knew exactly what they were thinking about us and also…” he stopped laughing but still smiled. “Thank you for saying that. It means a lot, especially from you. People listen to you, so I can hope they will treat me more like a human again now.”

Harry walked up to Draco and hugged him. Draco went stiff for a second but then relaxed into the embrace and wrapped his arms loosely around Harry’s waist.

“We’re friends now, Draco and defending each other is what friends do. So you’re welcome.”

“You know, this is everything my 11 year old self wanted. You as a friend. Not an acquaintance but as a real friend I could tell everything and who would defend me. I love you Harry Potter. As a friend.”

“I’m glad to have you as a friend, Draco Malfoy. I love you, too.”

Their peace was interrupted by a _whoosh_ from the fireplace.

“Draco Lucius Malfoy!” Pansy screamed. “How dare you tell me this in a letter?”

Draco let go of Harry and hurried to sit in front of the fireplace.

“Hello, Pansy dear. It’s nice to see you, too.”

“Don’t you dare play nice now, Draco! You could’ve firecalled me or told me to come over for the weekend so you could tell me in person. But no, Mr Malfoy either thinks it’s not important enough or is too much of a coward to tell his best friend that he has finally found his life mate.”

Draco sighed. This would take a lot of work. And the worst part was that she was right. He was a coward. He was scared of her reaction about Harry Potter being his mate.

“I know, you’re right Pansy.” He said in a defeated voice. “I didn’t want you to kill either me or Harry when you found out he’s my Drakhono so I took the easy way out. I apologize and I hope you will continue to be my friend, even though I disappointed you.”

“I wouldn’t have killed you. Maybe seriously maimed but not killed. I’m not _that_ cruel. And killing Potter would’ve had serious repercussions so I wouldn’t have killed _him_ either. I accept your apology but I expect you to make it up to me.” Pansy demanded.

“That is only reasonable. Harry and I will meet Mother for lunch on Saturday; it would be nice if you could come as well.” Draco offered in return.

“I’ll be there. You’ll have lunch at the Manor I presume?”

“No. I told Mother to choose a restaurant. I don’t think it wise to meet at the Manor. Once Mother has told me where we will meet, I will firecall you.”

“Great. Now I would like to meet your mate. See if it really is the oh-so-glorious Harry Potter.”

Draco snickered. If Pansy only knew how much Harry hated all the names and the fame. He was sure they could be great friends.

Upon hearing his name, Harry crouched down in front of the fireplace next to Draco.

“Good evening, Parkinson.” He greeted Pansy.

“Likewise, Potter. I just wanted to make sure that you are aware that I will dismember and then kill you should you hurt Draco in any way.”

“The same goes for you, Parkinson. Should you hurt Draco in any kind or way you will wake up dead.”

“I don’t think you are in the position to pose that threat, Potter.”

“But he is, Pansy.” Draco interrupted. “He is my friend just as much as you are.”

“Friend? But I thought you had to fuck at some point in the story? Isn’t that the point of mates?”

Draco and Harry both laughed at that. “Oh Pansy, is there anything else than sex on your mind, ever?”

Pansy stuck up her nose. “Of course not, Draco. Humans live for sex.”

Harry scowled.

“They don’t.” he stated, got up and left.

“I have to go, Pans. I will call you once I know where we will have lunch on Saturday.” Draco said, and then he got up and closed the connection.

Now he had a lot of damage reduction to do and wounds to mend. He had never been good at stuff like that but for Harry he would try his best. Not only had he Granger’s and Weasley’s threat looming over him but he was Harry’s friend now and would do anything to make him feel better.

He knocked on the bedroom door hesitantly.

“Harry? Are you in there?”

“Go away, Draco. You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it to me. I want to understand.” Draco pleaded.

“It’s hard to explain… and I’m not good with words. You probably wouldn’t understand.”

“Can you try? Please, for me?”

Harry almost gasped at the gentleness in Draco’s voice. He really wanted to understand. He didn’t want to make fun of Harry for his reaction to what Parkinson had said. He actually _cared_.

“Come in.” he said, his voice thick with unshed tears.

Draco slowly opened the door and stepped inside. After he had closed the door again and set up Locking and Silencing Charms he sat down on his bed, facing Harry.

“Do you remember when I asked you whether we would have to have sex for our bond?”

“Yes.”

“Well… I asked because I don’t feel sexual attraction… to anyone really. And Parkinson…” Harry started crying, not able to hold the tears in when he recalled what she had said, what Ginny had said not even a month ago. What if they were right? What if he was damaged because he didn’t feel sexual attraction?

He felt the mattress dip next to him. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Harry.” Draco assured him, almost as if he had read his mind. Then he started to gently caress his hair. “There are many people who don’t feel sexual attraction and they are not damaged. Neither are you. You’re simply asexual, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“But it’s not normal!” Harry argued. “Why can’t I be normal for once?”

“Just because it isn’t common doesn’t mean it’s not normal. Take for example wizards. They aren’t common but for us being a wizard and having magic is normal because that’s what we are and we’ve had it for all our life. We would be untrue to ourselves and damage our body and soul if we forgot all about magic and tried to live completely without it. The same goes for sexuality. Normality is a social construct and personally I think everyone who labels themselves normal is very boring and one-dimensional.”

Harry looked up at Draco with red-rimmed eyes.

“Really? You’re not making fun of me?” he asked. He wasn’t sure if he believed Draco after everyone he knew had told him sex was a human need and everyone felt sexual attraction.

“Yes, really.”

“Can I hug you?”

Draco smiled. “Of course, come here.”

Harry sat up and crawled into Draco’s lap, wrapping his arms around Draco’s neck.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” He whispered.

“For what?”

“For being you. For not wearing the Malfoy Mask when we’re alone. You even wear it around Pansy and she has been your friend for much longer than I have.”

“That’s because our friendship is very different to the friendship I have with Pansy.” Draco explained. “Even though she’s my best friend she’s still out for the best possible outcome for herself and will use any vulnerability I show against me. I can assure you that right now she is plotting how she can use the fact that I care for you to her gain.”

“I’m sorry.” Harry murmured. He hadn’t thought about how his outburst would affect Draco and his relationship with Pansy. Maybe it was good he hadn’t been sorted into Slytherin with the way he wore his heart on his sleeve and charged into everything headfirst. Not to start about his fast temper he had developed after Fifth Year.

“Don’t be. That’s how friendships between Slytherins work. I can handle it.”

“But if I hadn’t acted without thinking you wouldn’t have to.”

“Yes, but then maybe something else would have happened. Just don’t worry about it please. We can’t change it now.”

Harry nodded and hugged Draco tighter. Draco was so different to all his other friends and Harry found he liked it – a lot.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo, chapter 10. It's a little longer than the others.
> 
> Please tell me what you think. Comments and Kudos are highly appreciated.

The next morning Harry had his first lesson of Ancient Runes. To his surprise he rather enjoyed it, even though he didn’t understand half of it as he was lacking four years of knowledge. The things he understood were interesting enough to pay attention.

When the lessons were over for the day he decided he needed to spend time with his other friends and apart from Draco. It was nice to always have someone to talk to or lean on but it was starting to become annoying to always be around Draco. He promised him to come back the minute he felt the coldness come back and then set off to meet his friends outside the Great Hall.

“Harry! Where’s your counterpart?” Neville greeted him. “You know, platinum blonde hair, fair skin, about 6’2’’?”

Harry laughed. Neville’s description was spot-on. “Doing his Ancient Runes essay. I’m free to go until I’m beginning to feel uncomfortable.”

“But when you can be apart for some time, why were you in Ancient Runes today?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah, mate. Divination was even more boring without you.” Ron added.

“We don’t know for how long we can stay apart, yet. So this is a test how long and how far we can be apart until the cold feeling comes back.”

At the word test Hermione perked up. “I hope you’re taking notes on how long you can stay apart. And if there’s a difference when you’re alone opposed to when you’re with other people. And if the number of people you’re with has any influence.”

“You can discuss that with Draco. I think I saw him start several charts earlier.” Harry brushed it off.

Hermione, satisfied that it was taken care of, herded them outside so they could spend some quality time together.

They had to get back inside just twenty minutes later when Harry started to feel the coldness seep into his body again. Despite Ron’s protest that perhaps his cloak wasn’t thick enough he knew that it had to do with the distance he had to Draco and not with the temperature outside or the quality of his cloak. He said goodbye to his friends when they were outside the Great Hall again and then went the by now familiar way back to his and Draco’s quarters.

Ashe reached the portrait of the blue dragon that guarded the entrance to their quarters he felt the coldness seep away again. He released a relieved sigh and stepped inside the room.

“Honey, I’m home!” he called out to Draco who had curled up on the love seat in front of the fire again, reading in the diary once again. His Ancient Runes essay lay unfinished on the table.

“Didn’t take long.” He observed.

“Yeah. Hermione has several ideas for test series, you should talk to her.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Draco got up and recorded the time they had been able to be away from each other in one of the charts. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow after Arithmancy.”

“Thank you. Did you have any success with your essay?”

“Not really… I’ll do it tomorrow. Are you up to some flying practise?”

“Sure. We still have a few hours until dinner.”

 

Draco’s flying skills had improved greatly since the first time he had tried it on Saturday. Now he already dared to try some easier Quidditch moves. Harry was ecstatic. Flying with Draco was even better than flying on a broom because he knew Draco would never let him fall if he was able to prevent it. He couldn’t say that about his experience with brooms. And not only that he felt safer than he had ever on a broom, he could also relax completely on Draco’s back and didn’t have to watch out for anything.

His thoughts were interrupted by a strange trilling sound.

_“What was that?”_ he asked,the Dragon language still felt strange on his tongue.

_“Apparently that was my happy sound.”_ Draco replied.

_“Your happy sound?”_

_“Yes. I wanted to express that I’m happy and that was the sound I made.”_

_“Oh. Okay. It’s cute.”_

Draco growled. Apparently he didn’t like to be called cute.

_“It’s not cute?”_ Harry tried. _“It’s very manly and intimidating?”_

_“That it is.”_ Draco agreed.

 

When they got back down on the ground, Draco took Harry off his back again and rolled around, exposing his belly. It was covered in scales that were softer than those on the rest of his body.

_“Would you rub my belly?”_ he asked, his dragon eyes wide open and pleading.

Harry laughed. _“Sure, why not?”_

He knelt down next to Draco and started caressing and gently massaging his belly.

_“Add a little more pressure. I’m a dragon, not a lapdog!”_ Draco demanded growling.

Harry chuckled. Draco was still as demanding as ever. But he complied, adding more pressure and using his knuckles instead of his fingertips for the massage.

_“Mmmmh…”_ Draco growled. _“Feels so good…”_

When Draco was content and satisfied, he turned back into his human form.

“Thank you Harry. It was heavenly, really. How about I pay you back with a nice massage?”

“That would be nice. But first I need to shower and then is dinner.”

 

Back in their rooms after dinner, they went into their bedroom and Harry pulled off his shirt before lying down on his bed facedown. Draco knelt above him and worked his skilled fingers to ease the knots in Harry’s back, shoulders and neck.

Harry moaned in appreciation. “Gods, Draco that feels so good.”

Draco chuckled. “Apparently playing the piano isn’t the only skill my fingers have.”

“It certainly seems so… ohhh…”Draco had hit an especially tense spot, making Harry moan again.

A few minutes later, Draco was done and Harry felt more relaxed than he had ever before from what he could remember.

“I’m almost certain you have magic hands.” He said to Draco.

“I’m a wizard; I most certainly have magic in my hands. In fact, I have magic in all of my body. I could massage you with my feet the next time to prove my theory.”

“Oh no, you won’t!” Harry exclaimed in horror. “I will make sure of that even if I have to cut off your feet to keep you from doing that.”

“Okay, I won’t. I’m quite fond of my feet, thank you very much.” Draco stretched and wiggled his toes.

“Oh yes, you have very nice feet, Draco Malfoy. I’m sure they’re perfect for tickling.” Without further warning Harry attacked and tickled Draco’s feet, making him laugh hysterically. “Harry… please… no… stop…”

Soon Draco tickled back and they got caught up in a tickling war, each trying to find the most sensitive spots of the other and refusing to give up no matter how much they cried laughing.

After what felt like an eternity they both lay next to each other, still on Harry’s bed, panting.

“Let’s agree it was a draw.” Harry proposed.

“Yeah. I haven’t had fun like this in years.”

“I’ve never had this much fun…”

Draco looked at Harry surprised and Harry realized what he had just said. But to his surprise, Draco didn’t demand him to elaborate on what he had said. To be honest, he was downright confused. Whenever he had accidentally spilled something like that in front of Hermione or Ron they had always wanted to hear the full story.

“Don’t you want to know why?” he asked Draco hesitantly.

“Not if you’re not ready to tell me. I always hate it when other people invade my privacy like that, so I’ll do my best not to do it.”

“Thanks, Draco.”

“You don’t have to thank me for not being a hypocrite… even though hypocrisy is definitely a trait my father possessed; I don’t seem to have inherited it. Is there something you _want_ to talk about?” Draco offered.

Harry thought about it. He wanted to tell Draco about his childhood, about how he had been treated by his _family_. He wanted him to understand why they couldn’t have been friends in First Year because Draco’s behaviour reminded him of Dudley. But instead he settled on something simple, something funny, to keep the mood light for now.

“When my aunt cut off all my hair except for my fringe because it was annoying her, it grew back over night.”

Draco knew there had to be more to that story but he didn’t push it and instead told Harry about one of the times he had used accidental magic to get what he wanted.

“One time when I was five, I think, my father wanted to take me to some social gathering to brag about his son but I didn’t want to come. When I accidentally turned his hair a vibrant blue and he couldn’t change it back with any spell, we all stayed at the Manor for the day. Lucius Malfoy couldn’t be seen with blue hair after all.”

“Of course not.” Harry laughed. “That would have destroyed his reputation completely.”

That evening they stayed on safe grounds, only talking about the few happy memories they had from life away from Hogwarts and the many stories they were ready to share from their school life.

Draco was the first to fall asleep a few hours later. Harry found he looked too peaceful and it felt too good to be this close to him to wake him up and tell him to go sleep in his own bed, so he just transfigured their clothes into pyjamas and curled up next to Draco to fall asleep as well.

 

Upon waking up, Draco could feel the soothing presence of his Drakhono right next to him, not in the next bed. He slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was indeed lying in Harry’s bed, Harry himself just inches away. From last night he only remembered that they had talked. Draco had told Harry that the house elves had always read fairy tales and stories to him when he had been little and Harry had told him about how Dobby, Draco’s very own house elf, had almost killed Harry in Second Year when he had bewitched a Bludger in an attempt to make Harry leave Hogwarts.

He must have fallen asleep at some point; there was no other explanation to why he was still lying in Harry’s bed. Even his clothes had been transfigured into pyjamas, he only now realized.

Coming to the conclusion that Harry would’ve kicked him out if he hadn’t wanted him there; he relaxed and cast a Tempus Charm to check whether they had to get up anytime soon. They still had an hour left, so he set an alarm and closed his eyes again to rest a little longer.

“Good morning.” Harry said just as Draco had closed his eyes again. “You’re still here.”

“Do you want me to go?”

“No, I just thought you would jump up the second you realized you’re in the wrong bed.”

“I wanted to but I realized you probably would’ve kicked me out last night if you hadn’t been okay with it. Besides, it feels good to be so close to you.”

“Hmmm…” Harry hummed in agreement. “Can we tell Winky to bring our breakfast here today?”

“Are we feeling lazy today?” Draco teased.

“Yes, very. I have no desire whatsoever to face the Great Hall today. I feel much too content to let them ruin my day so early on.”

Draco could only agree with Harry. Even after Harry had declared him his friend over lunch at Monday there were still hostile looks and comments whenever they were seen together. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that they shouldn’t retreat to their own quarters to have their meals just because of that.

“Well, you do have a point there. But don’t you think it will be detrimental to our reputation if we stay in our rooms for the meals again after only two days?”

“I don’t care what other people think anymore. I have sacrificed my comfort for them way too long and way too often. I saved their lives; they have nothing to demand from me, not even to attend meals in the Great Hall when I’m uncomfortable around people other than my Dragon Child.”

“You’re not comfortable around other people?” Draco was worried. Why hadn’t Harry told him about it?

“It’s not that bad. It just stings a bit when people touch me and… Gryffindors are rather hands on…”

“Please don’t just brush it off like that, Harry.” Draco knew there had to be some reason why Harry was downplaying this but he didn’t want to pressure Harry into telling him. “And whenever you’re in pain or uncomfortable, please tell me.”

Harry nodded hesitantly, he knew that Draco only wanted to help him but he wasn’t used to people offering help like that.

“Thank you. Now let’s ask Winky for our breakfast. Telling McGonagall can wait until after classes.”

“Thank you, Draco.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though I listened to the new Pierce the Veil song almost non stop for the last two days, I managed to write a little chapter for you.
> 
> Tell me what you think, Comments and Kudos are appreciated.

Harry had almost forgotten about the nightmares he used to have since the war was over when they came back full force on Friday night. He dreamed of the clearing in the Forbidden Forest where he had faced Voldemort for the last time only this time, Draco was with him. Voldemort laughed cruelly at the sight of their clasped hands and cast an Avada Kedavra on Draco. Harry saw the green beam race towards Draco and he found himself unable to do anything. He couldn’t shove Draco aside or jump in front of him, he couldn’t even cry out for him to duck. It was as if he was made of stone. When Draco fell down on the floor, lifeless, Harry let out a cry of anguish. He had saved Draco’s life so many times and now Voldemort had still killed him.

“I suck at saving people.” He whispered to himself. “And yet it seems to be the only thing that I’m good for.”

 

Draco woke up when he heard Harry crying in his sleep. He turned around and in the light of the glowing orb saw Harry tangled in his sheets, his face streaked with tear trails. He knew one shouldn’t wake someone who had a nightmare but he couldn’t go back to sleep after he had seen the pain in Harry’s face so he made a compromise and went into their living room. There he sat down on the stool in front of his piano and played Moonlit Night, his favourite piece of those he had composed so far.

Harry gradually became aware of the faint tinkling of piano notes and somehow it reminded him of Draco. Determined to take revenge for Draco’s undeserved death he raised his wand to kill Voldemort. As the spell hit Voldemort he woke up, covered in sweat.

The notes hadn’t stopped and when he turned around he found Draco’s bed was vacated. Still slightly dizzy he went into the living room where he saw Draco playing the piano.

“You’re still alive…” he breathed. “Merlin, Draco, you’re still alive.”

Draco turned around as he heard Harry’s voice.

“You’re awake.” He observed.

“I heard you play in my dream. It helped immensely.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Harry shook his head. “I just want to fall asleep again. We’re meeting your mother for lunch in a few hours, we have to be well-rested.”

“I’ll send her an owl that we won’t come, if you’re not feeling up to it.”

“No, you don’t have to. We should go. The sooner this is over and done with, the better.”

“Alright. It’s your decision.”

They went back into the bedroom but when Draco wanted to crawl back into his bed, Harry grabbed his wrist.

“Could you sleep in my bed?” he asked shyly.

“Of course.”

 

When they went to the restaurant the next day around noon, Harry was a nervous wreck. His hands were shaking and he just wanted to run back to Hogwarts, consequences be damned.

Draco noticed it and took Harry’s hand.

“You have nothing to worry about, Harry. If my mother had a problem with you being my Drakhono, she would’ve said so in her letter. She just wants to get to know you face to face and without all the Boy Who Lived rumours and prejudices standing between you.”

Harry sighed relieved but remained tense.

“And what about Parkinson?”

“Pansy will behave when Mother is around. And if not, both Mother and I will make her leave.”

“Thank you, Draco. But why does it sound like your mother has technically already adopted me?”

Draco sighed. “That’s because she probably has. She always wanted to have more children, at least five, she always said. But some curse Voldemort cast on her made that impossible so now she’s mentally adopting everyone I’m close to.”

Not knowing what to say to that, Harry just squeezed Draco’s hand in silent comfort.

Meanwhile they had reached their destination, the Mermaid Palace; a restaurant that specialized in seafood, and was located in a part of Wizarding London Harry had never been to before.

Never having had seafood before, Harry was at a bit of a loss about what to order. To his relief, Draco offered to order something for him.

“That would be nice. Thank you Draco.”

Draco sent him and easy smile and Harry couldn’t help smiling back. Now that the matter of food was solved he had to face the real issue. Draco’s mother and his best friend.

“Have you never had seafood before, Mr Potter?” Mrs Malfoy asked.

“No” in a split second he decided to tell the truth. Draco deserved to know and so did his mother. He just hoped Parkinson wouldn’t make fun of him. “My relatives never took me with them when they went to eat at a restaurant.”

“I’m sorry, Mr Potter. It was insensitive to ask.”

“It was a legitimate question, Mrs Malfoy. I don’t blame you, you didn’t know.”

“You are very kind, Mr Potter. Draco is lucky to have you as his Drakhono. But please, call me Narcissa, dear. You’re family now.”

“Thank you, Narcissa. But then I insist you call me Harry.”

Draco witnessed the conversation between Harry and his mother with a smile. It was relieving to see them get along so well. But he couldn’t help but wonder why Harry’s relatives wouldn’t take him with them when they went out to eat. Pansy seemed to have similar thoughts.

“Why didn’t they take you, Potter?” she asked. “I thought they were treating you like a prince?”

“No, they didn’t. But it’s none of your business, Parkinson.”

Pansy wanted to snap back, but Draco gave her a stern look and she stayed silent, pouting because she was denied her gossip.

At Harry, Draco raised an eyebrow and got a small nod in reply. Harry would talk to him later, when they were back in their rooms again.

The rest of their lunch progressed without further problems or uncomfortable questions. To Draco’s relief Harry even seemed to enjoy what he had ordered for him.

After they had thanked Narcissa for lunch and said their goodbyes, they went back to the Leaky Cauldron and flooed back to their rooms from there.

Draco sat down on the loveseat and waited for Harry to start talking.

“Before I tell you, you have to promise me not to enact revenge on them. I won’t ever be going back to them and I’d rather forget about them completely.” Harry demanded.

Draco nodded. “I understand. And Harry? You don’t have to tell me everything, yet. Just what you’re comfortable sharing with me.”

“I know. Thank you, Draco.”

And so Harry began telling Draco a little about his childhood and his summers with the Dursleys after he had come to Hogwarts. He wasn’t ready, yet, to tell Draco everything but he deserved to know some of it.

Once he was finished, Draco held out his arms for a hug. Harry accepted it, grateful for the offered comfort. Draco hugged Harry to his chest and petted his back, encouraging him to cry. After all, he knew how hard it was to just let go for a few minutes and let someone else see him this vulnerable.

When Harry had stopped crying, Draco loosened his hold on him and called for Winky. She appeared a second later.

“What can Winky do for Masters?”

“Please bring us tea and some pastries, Winky.” Draco ordered. Winky gave a curt nod and vanished again.

A few minutes later the tea tray appeared on the small couch table in front of them. Draco coaxed Harry to let go of his shoulder and turn around.

“I told Winky to bring us tea. I figured you might want some.”

Harry gave a weak chuckle at the British cure-all.

“Yes,” he said, “that would be nice.”

Draco prepared a cup how Harry liked it – one sugar and a dash of milk – and handed it to him. Harry took a sip and smiled.

“It’s perfect.”

Satisfied, Draco smiled as well and made his own cup.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT 08/2017: I changed a lot in the discussion Draco and Hermione have because as one reader pointed out, Draco was quite racist. I hope it's better now.
> 
> Yay, a Halloween chapter. I had so much fun writing this. It's pretty log in comparison to the others and I hope I have done it justice. Have fun reading.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated.

Tuesday was a difficult day for Harry. It was Halloween and for the first time in his life he was really able to grief his parents’ death.

At first Draco was confused about Harry’s solemn mood. Only when Harry sat down at the dining table with his photo album lying in front of him, he remembered that Voldemort had killed Harry’s parents seventeen years ago to the day.

He went to stand behind Harry and hesitantly put his hands on Harry’s shoulders in silent comfort.

“Do you want me to come to the cemetery with you?” he asked gently.

Harry turned his head to look at Draco. “You would come?” he asked a little confused.

“Yes.” Draco swallowed a sarcastic remark, knowing it wouldn’t do any good now. “If you want me to, I will come with you.”

Instead of answering, Harry suddenly started crying.

“21! 21, Draco!” he sobbed. “They died when they were only 21! _We’re_ 21 in three years. It’s not fair. They should’ve seen me grow up.”

Draco started rubbing Harry’s shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.

“I’m sure they watch you from above. They will never leave, not until everyone has forgotten about them. And hopefully that won’t happen for a very long time.” He assured Harry. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Come to Godric’s Hollow with me. I want to introduce you to my parents.”

Draco smiled. “It would be an honour.”

 

Two hours later they stood in front of the gates to the cemetery in Godric’s Hollow. They passed the statue of Lily and James Potter, holding little Harry and went on until they were standing in front of their grave.

“Hi Mom, hi Dad. Uhm, this is Draco Malfoy. He’s a Dragon Child and I’m his Drakhono. We used to fight a lot but now he’s really nice and understanding about, well… everything.”

Harry gasped and took a step back, stumbling into Draco, when the ghosts of his parents suddenly appeared above their graves.

“What… what happened? How… why are you here?” he stammered.

Draco put a hand on Harry’s shoulder and started drawing random patterns with his thumb in an attempt to calm him.

“It’s Halloween,” Lily explained, “the veil between the living and the dead is extremely thin today. But we don’t have much time; even now it’s difficult to keep up the connection.”

Harry looked up at that. He had to make the most of the little time they had.

“Mom, Dad, I missed you so much.” He wanted to embrace them but sighed when he remembered they were ghosts and therefore not solid.

“We missed you, too, Harry. But remember that we will always love you and that we’re very proud of you, for everything you did,” Lily said.

“And what Draco here said to you this morning is true. We spent most of your life watching you and we will continue to do so until you die of old age and join us,” James added.

Only now Harry realized that tears had been running down his face ever since his mother had started speaking.

 

After they had talked for a few minutes, Lily asked to talk to Harry alone for a minute.

“Of course.” Draco said. “I’ll be over there, just call for me if you need me, Harry.”

Then he squeezed Harry’s shoulder and disappeared between the rows and rows of headstones.

“He loves you, Harry,” Lily said once Draco was out of earshot.

“Yeah, I know. He told me last week that he loved me as a friend.”

“I don’t think so, Harry,” his father said calmly. “You may not see it but he looks at you like I look at your mother. I’m sure he just said he loves you as a friend because he doesn’t want to pressure you to have a different relationship with him.”

Harry’s eyes lit up at the possibility that the romantic feelings he had for Draco were reciprocated. When he saw the ghosts of his parents disappear slowly, he hurried to say his goodbyes.

“Thank you for being here. I love you both. I hope we can come back next year. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, son.”

“Goodbye, Harry.”

Then the ghosts vanished and Harry went to get Draco so they could leave again. After fourth year he really didn’t have any desire to be on a graveyard any longer than necessary.

 

Back in their rooms at Hogwarts, Harry threw his arms around Draco and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you for coming. It helped a lot to have you there.”

“Always, Harry,” Draco promised and hugged him back.

“Do you want to go to the feast?” he then asked.

“I’m not sure. On the one hand I want to go because I’m sure it’ll be as festive as every year and I could really use that festivity and the cheer now but on the other hand I really don’t want to be the centre of attention again after I could hide for the last days.”

“I understand. We could ask Winky to decorate our rooms a little, would that help with the festivity?”

“I guess. But I’d like to celebrate with my friends and we agreed to show no one our rooms. If only the Room of Requirement was still working, it would be so much easier then.” Harry hung his head, already resigned to the fact that he would have to endure the hero worship if he wanted to spend the evening with his friends.

“Harry, you’re a genius!” Draco suddenly exclaimed.

“Huh?”

“Remember when I talked to Lovegood the other day after Runes?”

Harry nodded. He could vaguely remember that Luna had approached them and asked to talk to Draco alone.

“Well, she told me that it’s really sad that no one goes to the room of Requirement anymore just because it’s on the third floor now.”

Harry gasped in surprise. “What?”

“That was exactly my reaction. Inwardly of course. Malfoys don’t show their emotions openly around anyone except for close friends and family.”

“And where exactly is it?”

“She didn’t tell me. I think we’ll have to find and ask her. We should start with the Ravenclaw tower.”

“There’s no need for that,” Harry interrupted. “Give me a minute and we’ll know where Luna is.”

Draco just stared at him in confusion.

Instead of acknowledging it, Harry went into their bedroom and got the Marauders’ Map out of his trunk.

At the sight of the blank, folded parchment in Harry’s hand, Draco got even more confused.

“And how on earth are we going to find Lovegood with that?”

“Watch and learn,” Harry simply said and sat down next to Draco.

“I solemnly swear I am up to no good,” Harry said, pointing his wand at the map.

To Draco’s surprise, a map of Hogwarts appeared. But it didn’t only show the castle but also where everyone in the school was at the moment. After a minute they found Luna’s name on top of the Astronomy Tower.

“Well, that was easy,” Draco acknowledged.

 

After they had approached Luna on the Astronomy Tower and asked her to show them the location of the Room of Requirement they invited first her and then Harry’s other friends to have a private Halloween Party with them.

 

They all met in front of the Great Hall about half an hour after the feast had started so they would encounter as few people as possible on their way up to the third floor.

From there Luna led them to the Forbidden Corridor but instead of the door behind which Fluffy had been in their First Year there was a bare wall.

“Does it still work the same way as it did before?” Harry asked Luna.

“Yes, it does. Go on, Harry.”

Harry walked up in front of the wall three times, imagining a cosy common room in neutral colours and with festive Halloween decoration.

A door appeared and the friends stepped in to the new Room of Requirement, one after the other.

Draco called for Winky to bring them food – to the obvious displeasure of Hermione – while the others occupied the armchairs and loveseats around the hearth fire. Then he joined them as well, flopping down in the only unoccupied seat next to Harry.

“Is everything to your satisfaction, Mr Potter?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s very nice. Thank you for thinking about this.”

Harry’s grateful smile made Draco’s heart skip a beat. He really had it bad.

Harry caught Draco’s look for a split-second, suddenly understanding what his father had meant earlier. But even though he had romantic feelings for Draco he wasn’t sure whether he was ready to have a romantic relationship with him, yet. He liked what he had with Draco right now, whatever it was, it was what he needed, what he had missed for years. He was glad Draco accepted their relationship like it was right now, even though he was sure Draco knew about his attraction. His father was right; Draco didn’t want to pressure him into something he wasn’t ready for.

 

Winky appeared a few minutes later, bringing them an assortment of the food from the Halloween Feast and disappeared again when Draco nodded once, dismissing her.

Hermione wanted to protest against house elf treatment but Draco interrupted before she could start.

“No. Stop. The Headmistress explicitly allowed Harry and I to call on Winky should we need anything. I don’t mistreat her and as a Hogwarts house elf she gets paid every month. So what is your problem?”

“What about the ones at Malfoy Manor?” Hermione demanded. “Do you treat them like this as well?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “I would if I was still living at Malfoy Manor. I didn’t before the war but what Dobby did for you showed me how much better the relationship between wizards and house elves could be if wizards treated them better.”

Hermione seemed stunned. “You’re learning.”

Draco couldn’t help smirking at her. “As surprising as it may be, yes, I am learning. It just takes some time to work through all the racism and pureblood elitism and just general bullshit my father taught me.”

Harry snuck his hand in Draco’s and squeezed once. It assured Draco that he had said and done the right thing. When Hermione didn’t ask any other questions, Draco served himself some of the food Winky had brought and started eating.

 

“Harry says you play the piano, Draco?” Luna asked after everyone had finished and the house elves had collected the leftovers.

“Yes. I’ve started playing when I was six when my mother insisted I learn to play an instrument.”

“Would you play something for us?” she asked further.

“Of course.” At this point he would do almost anything to get away from the judging looks from Harry’s friends for a few minutes. Even though they said they accepted it, they didn’t seem to approve of it. “Let me just…” in that moment a grand piano appeared in one corner. “Room of Requirement, right.”

He went over to the piano and started playing one of his own pieces – Hallowe’en Night. It was festive but a little gloomy, the perfect Halloween mood, if he dare say so himself.

 

The friends started talking again but after a few minutes Harry got up and went to stand behind Draco, wrapping his arms around Draco’s waist and lying his head on his shoulder.

“Thank you again.” He whispered. “This is exactly what I needed tonight.”

“I’m glad,” Draco replied, still continuing to play, “Do you need something or why are you here and not over there with your friends?”

“You’re my friend too, Draco, and I want to spend time with you as well.”

“But you already spent the whole day with me.”

“And I want to spend the evening with you as well. Is it because they are my friends and not yours?”

Draco stopped playing and turned around to face Harry fully.

“Yeah.” He admitted. “Yeah, it is. I feel like I don’t fit in, that I’m only here because we need to stay close to each other.”

“But that’s not true, Draco.” Harry assured him. “You’re here because I want you to be here, because I want to celebrate Halloween with you. And the others are okay with you being here, too. I know they don’t really like you and they don’t trust you but they try.”

Draco smiled. “I know. I’m coming. But as soon as one of them insults or threatens me, I’m out of here.”

“That’s only fair.” Harry agreed.

 

“You’re really good at playing the piano, Malfoy.” Neville said as soon as Harry and Draco had joined them again.

“Thank you, Longbottom.”

Neville cringed a little at the use of his last name. “Could you please call me Neville?” he asked hesitantly. “Ever since Professor Snape my last name sounds like an insult to me.”

Draco thought about the request for a second and then nodded in understanding. Professor Snape had really done his best to this boy feel terrible.

“Of course, Neville.” He added for good measure.

“Malfoy, I have another question.” Hermione said and redirected the attention of the small group successfully in her direction.

“Yes?” Draco leaned into the comforting warmth Harry was radiating and got ready for an interrogation.

“Do you still believe in blood purity and Pureblood supremacy?”

“Like I said the other day at lunch, no, I don’t.”

“And what about Muggles?”

Draco sighed. “I don’t have anything against Muggles per say. It’s quite impressive how they get around without the aid of magic but I know too little about them to have an opinion based on knowledge rather than prejudices. I mostly steer clear of them, though, because, to be quite honest, I find them a little intimidating.

“I don’t have anything against Muggleborns either. You’re for sure the brightest witch of our age and I can acknowledge that. But I think Muggleborns should get educated in magic and Wizarding culture before they go to Hogwarts so they have at least a basic understanding of the Wizarding World and don’t lag behind all the children who were brought up around magic their whole lives.”

Hermione found herself at loss for words. Everything Malfoy had said was reasonable and she couldn’t help agreeing with him. And judging by the satisfied smile he wore he knew that.

“Harry, your boyfriend is infuriating!” she complained.

Both Harry and Draco looked at her like she had lost her mind. When had they ever done something that could’ve been considered romantic when they weren’t alone? And even if they had, why was she making assumptions about their relationship?

“Draco isn’t my boyfriend, ‘Mione.” Harry deadpanned. “I’m his Drakhono and he is my Dragon Child. We don’t have a romantic relationship.” _Yet_ he added under his breath so only Draco could hear it. And judging from the small smile on his lips, he had.

“But… but… you’re so close… How can you not…?”

“Before you judge our relationship I suggest you take a look at what you and Weasley had for the first, what was it… six years you knew each other? Harry and I are satisfied with the relationship we have right now so I’d kindly ask you not to interfere with it.”

Harry smiled openly at Draco. He was fascinated how diplomatic he could be if he wanted to.

 

As the time went on, Draco got closer and closer to Harry until he was lying with his head in Harry’s lap, his long legs dangling off the other side of the loveseat.

Harry chuckled when he saw the confused looks on the faces of all of his friends except for Luna.

“Harry, mate, are you sure he isn’t your boyfriend?” Ron asked.

Harry felt Draco tense at the word boyfriend and petted his hair lightly to comfort him.

“Yes, one hundred percent sure. We’re not boyfriends and we’re not in a romantic relationship.”

“And then why do you let him sleep in your lap?”

“Because he’s tired and it’s the only place he’s comfortable enough to sleep with all of you around. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“I think we should go now.” Hermione announced. “It’s almost curfew.”

Everyone mumbled their goodbyes and left, leaving Harry and Draco on their own.

As soon as the door closed behind Luna, Draco opened his eyes again.

“Your friends are infuriating,” he complained.

“I know. But I think Luna understood.”

“Yeah. But she’s… different. I kinda like her actually.”

“You should tell her. I’m pretty sure she already considers you a friend but she’ll appreciate it if you confirm it.”

“I will. But I think we should go now, too. Or do you want to sleep here?”

“No, not really. Let’s go.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry,this chapter is a little late (I've never promised punctuality but still...) but it has a dog!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated.

In the second week of November, Harry managed to master his Animagus transformation for the first time. Draco was currently finishing his Ancient Runes essay when he felt something brush his leg. When he looked up, he looked directly in the green eyes of a magnificent tiger.

“Harry?” the tiger nodded slowly.

“Merlin, you mastered it for the first time, I’m so proud of you!” Draco exclaimed and threw his hands around Harry’s neck.

Harry licked through Draco’s face, happy that he h d finally achieved something that he _wanted_ and not needed to achieve.

“Stop it” Don’t mess with my hair!” Draco complained laughing.

Then Harry changed back suddenly and they landed in a heap on the ground. Harry straddled Draco and ruffled his hair further.

“You, Harry Potter, will pay for this. I spent an eternity to have it lie down like that!”

“But you look so much better like this.” Harry protested.

“No, I look terrible. Now if you would kindly let me stand up so I can fix my hair?"

Instead of getting off of Draco, Harry stared intently at his hair. “Why do you wear a glamour?”

Draco paled. How could Harry notice his glamour? He had used the strongest one he was able to find in a book in one of the books in the Malfoy library.

“You can see it?” he asked.

“I can sense it. Ever since I defeated Voldemort, I can sense when objects or people have spells placed on them.”

“Well, that’s convenient. But then why did you only notice it now?”

“It’s very subtle. But as you always apply it on your styled hair; I can see it now that your hair is dishevelled.” Harry explained, soothing Draco’s worries.

“So no one else can probably see it?”

“I believe not.”

“Oh thank Merlin. I gather you want me to cancel it?”

Harry shook his head. “Not if you’re not comfortable with it. I’m sure you have a reason to wear it.”

“Well, now that you know I might as well show you.”

Draco cast a wordless Finite Incantatem and looked up to see Harry’s reaction.

Harry’s eyes widened as he saw Draco’s hair grow until it almost reached down to his hips.

“Draco” he gasped, “It looks magnificent. Why would you hide it?”

“This will take some time to explain… could we sit on the sofa maybe? It’s more comfortable than lying on the floor.”

“Sure.” Harry got up and then grabbed Draco’s hand to pull him to his feet.

As they were snuggled up on the sofa, Draco lying with his head in Harry’s lap, Draco started talking.

“Long story short, my parents don’t approve of it. But it’s way more complicated than that.”

“Okay, go on. I’m listening.”

“Well, you know my father has very long hair. But it’s not because he likes it that way but because of Pureblood tradition. When he became Head of the Malfoy Family the house elves shaved all of his hair off and burned it in a ritual. Since then he wasn’t allowed to cut it anymore because even the smallest bit of hair – or skin, for that matter – could be used for nefarious purposes against the Malfoy family.”

“Well, that sounds reasonable.” Harry commented, running one of his hands through Draco’s soft hair.

“Yes, it does but it’s a little unnecessary. There are too many possibilities to get a strand of hair from someone to be so overconfident after eliminating one option.  But that was not what I was getting at. As you have probably gathered I refused the ritual when I stepped up to be the Head of the Malfoy family, seeing as my hair is this long.”

“Yeah, that’s quite obvious.”

“Well, I didn’t do it to defy my parents. Not really, even though it kind of resulted in that. I did it to stay true to myself. I’ve done so many things just because people wanted me to. Growing my hair out and not cutting it off for the ritual was the first thing I’ve ever truly done for myself. And I really like it like this. It feels comfortable.”

“Well, I like it, too. Would you mind keeping the glamour off as long as we’re here in our rooms?”

“Not at all. It would be great to finally wear it openly. I’ve never had the glamour off since it grew longer than chin-length. But you might have to remind me to put it back on when we leave our rooms.”

Harry smiled. “I’ll try. But we both know that we will forget it at some point.”

Draco laughed. “I’m really looking forward to all the looks I’ll be getting when we do. And the lecture from Granger I will probably get.”

“I never really apologized for her behaviour on Halloween, did I?” Harry suddenly remembered.

“It’s not important and also it’s not your fault. I knew what I was signing up to. It’s in her nature to ask invading questions and make assumptions, how wrong they might be.”

“It was really impressing how reasonable you were when you argued with her that night, or rather made your position clear. There wasn’t much arguing going on after that.”

Draco chuckled at that. “Well, I can be rather persuasive. And she’s your friend so I thought you would appreciate me playing nice. Not to mention that I was too relaxed to really snap at her for interrogating me like that.”

“That part was more than obvious. You were almost purring after you were done explaining yourself.”

Draco stretched and wriggled his head in Harry’s lap, trying to get even more comfortable.

“It’s very nice to be so close to you and feel the happiness radiating off you.” He explained.

“You can feel my happiness?”

“Only when I’m touching you. It’s like pleasant warmth enveloping me. It’s quite the sensation after feeling cold for all my life.”

“Alright.  We could stay like this for a while, or would you rather go flying?”

“Let’s stay here for a while. We can go outside after dinner, then I can fly and you can get acquainted to your Animagus form.”

Draco wouldn’t ever admit it but he loved Harry petting his hair, even more so now that he could wear it long. And he would use any excuse to make him continue. Judging from the smile on his face, Harry knew that and seemed to be quite infatuated with Draco’s hair as well.

Draco found he really couldn’t complain. He had the best Drakhono he could wish for. And wished, he had. He had prayed that fate would give him a person who would understand him and let him be who he was. He had never expected that person to be Harry though but now that he looked back at it, it only made sense.

“I love you, Harry.” He said, wanting to make sure Harry knew. “I’m so glad to have you.”

“I love you, too, Draco.”

 

Right after dinner they ventured out of the Great Hall and into the Forbidden Forest to the familiar clearing. They transformed and Draco took off instantly while Harry took small steps, slowly getting used to the body and movements of his tiger Animagus.

It felt weird to soar through the sky without Harry on his back, Draco noticed. It was as if something was missing. After a few more laps around the clearing he glided back down to the ground and walked up to Harry.

“ _It doesn’t feel right._ ” He growled.

“ _What?_ ” Harry asked, talking in the Dragon language was even weirder as a tiger.

“ _Flying without you. It feels like something’s missing when I’m alone up there._ ”

Harry stepped closer and rubbed his furry head on Draco’s stomach in an affectionate gesture.

“ _Then I’ll make sure you won’t have to fly alone again._ ” He promised. Draco’s following chuckle sounded a little like a dying animal.

Then he carefully took the tiger’s neck in his mouth and settled him on his back, like he would do with Harry in his human form.

“ _This is strange._ ” Harry commented.

“ _Because you’re in your Animagus form?_ ”

“ _Yeah. Now take off, I want to know if it’s any different as a tiger._ ”

“ _Since when are you so demanding?_ ”

“ _Since I have these._ ”

Harry extended his claws and raked them slowly over Draco’s back. Draco moaned appreciatively.

“ _Do that again, it feels amazing!_ ” he demanded.

The tiger chuckled. “ _Fly with me. I’ll give you a tiger massage when we’re back._ ”

After that it took Draco less than two seconds to rise into the air again.

 

“You mean to tell me that no one has ever seen you like this before?” Harry asked after Draco had cancelled the glamour on his hair again upon entering their rooms.

“Only my dog, but he doesn’t count, right?”

“You have a dog?” Harry was confused. To be honest, he had always thought Draco to be more of a cat person.

“Yeah, I have a few photographs in my trunk. Wait here and I’ll show you.”

Harry got comfortable on the loveseat and lit the fire with a swish of his wand. Draco came back and sat down next to him, a big photo album on his lap.

“Before you ask, no this is not only filled with pictures of Lucifer. My mother has been keeping this since I was born and gave it to me on my 11th birthday to fill with my own memories.”

The first picture showed a wrinkled baby with a shock of white hair in the arms of an equally fair haired woman.

“This is the first ever picture that exists of me.” Draco said and put his head on Harry’s shoulder. “I’m barely ten minutes old.”

Harry felt his eyes fill with tears as he remembered that there weren’t any photos like this in the photo album he had gotten from Hagrid in his first year.

Draco wrapped his arm around his shoulders. “I’m sorry. Shall we just look at the photos of Lucifer for now?”

Harry nodded mutely. Draco tapped his wand on the pages twice and they began to turn on their own accord to a photo of a 14 year-old Draco with a small, black puppy in his arms.

“He’s cute.” Harry said.

“Yeah he is. I’ve got him for my fourteenth birthday and he’s grown quite a bit since then. Especially because Mother spoils him almost more than she spoils me. Here, this was two weeks later, I think.”

Draco turned the page and showed Harry a picture of the dog running around in a giant meadow, a laughing Draco chasing him.

“You look happy.”

“I was happy. Lucifer helped a lot with keeping me sane while the Dark Lord had taken over the Manor. I had to hide him though. I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened had one of the Death Eaters found him.”

“They didn’t, that’s what counts. Would you tell me a nice story about him?”

Draco smiled at Harry’s attempt to make him stop thinking about what could’ve had happened during the war.

“A nice story about Lucifer, let’s see. I have one with a side dish of Lucius humiliation.”

“Oh, that’s nice, please tell me.”

Draco took the photo album and put it on the armchair next to him then he arranged himself in a comfortable position and began his story.

“I’ve only had Lucifer for about a month when my father had an urgent meeting in the Ministry. Well, Lucifer doesn’t take well to people leaving without saying goodbye to him so he jumped at my father as he wanted to leave and ripped a good part out of his robes when he got it between his teeth. Father was looking an utter mess and couldn’t even scald Lucifer for ruining his robes because it was his own fault. Mother and I are still laughing about it whenever Lucifer has one of his tantrums.”

Once Draco had finished, Harry burst out in laughter. It was too funny to hear that Lucius Malfoy, epitome of the proper Pureblood wasn’t all that proper sometimes. Draco soon laughed along with him, all thoughts about Death Eaters and the war forgotten for a while.

They continue to leaf through the album, watching Lucifer get bigger and bigger until he reached Draco’s waist the summer before Fifth Year. And that was saying something, Draco’s legs were unbelievably long.

“I’m meeting him sometimes during the weekends.” Draco explained as they came across a photo that was definitely not taken during any holiday. “Would you accompany me when I’m going next weekend?”

“As long as we’re not going to the Manor, I guess I’d like to come.”

“Well, we’ll have to go to the Manor to fetch him but I’ll tell Mother to bring him to the front gates so we won’t have to go inside. Then I’ll apparate us to the cottage I bought on my 18th birthday. Would that be okay with you?”

“Yeah. That should be alright. Thank you, Draco.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I don't know what to say. More than 300 Kudos and over 6000 Hits, you guys are incredible.
> 
> Here's a nice new chapter for you.
> 
> Kudos and Comments are appreciated.

The following Saturday was windy and grey but that couldn’t put a damper to Draco’s excellent mood. He hadn’t seen Lucifer since the start of term and he really missed him. Clad in thick cloaks they left Hogwarts grounds and Draco apparated them to Wiltshire. Once there he could already hear the faint sound of familiar barking which made a grin spread on his face. Harry next to him wasn’t looking happy at all but Draco couldn’t fault him for that. This was the place where one of his friends had been tortured after all.

He had just put his hand on Harry’s shoulder in an attempt to make him feel better, when the front door of the Manor opened and Lucifer ran out, followed by his mother at a much more sedate pace.

Draco had just enough time to spell the gates open before Lucifer jumped at him and knocked him to the ground. His tongue was all over Draco’s face in a second and his tail was wagging wildly.

“It’s alright, Lucifer. I’m here now and I’m okay. Better than okay, actually. There’s no need to suffocate me.”

But Lucifer didn’t intend to let Draco stand up again, probably because he feared he would leave him again.

In the meantime Draco’s mother had reached them and looked at her son amused.

“I told you, you should come more often. Lucifer missed you terribly. He even started sleeping on your bed.” She scolded.

“I know, Mother. We just didn’t have the time.” Draco said, trying to push Lucifer off his chest to make breathing easier.

“Lucifer! Heel!” Narcissa commanded and Lucifer jumped up, walking up to her side.

Draco scrambled to his feet and leaned on Harry’s shoulder.

“Lucifer, this is Harry. He’s my friend. Harry; Lucifer, my dog.”

“Nice to meet you.” Harry said, a little less tense after the stormy greeting. He held his hand out for Lucifer to snuffle.

Lucifer looked up to Narcissa for permission. She nodded and Lucifer took a step forward, nuzzling Harry’s hand. Then he stepped even closer and rubbed his head on Harry’s stomach.

“He likes you.” Draco said smiling. “We should go now. It was nice to see you, Mother.”

“Likewise, Draco. Have fun. You don’t have to bring Lucifer back; I’ll have the house elves fetch him as soon as you leave.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

With one hand, Draco held on to Harry and with the other to Lucifer, and then he concentrated on the small house in the countryside that belonged to him and disapparated.

When the nausea from Apparating had passed, Harry opened his eyes and looked around, fascinated. They were standing in front of a two-story house with wide walls and a black roof. It was surrounded by an immense garden that would surely be full of colours in the summer. He really liked it.

“It’s perfect, Draco.” He said and then followed Draco and Lucifer inside.

Somehow Harry had expected the inside to resemble Malfoy Manor but it couldn’t be farther from that. It was open and light and looked just so _Draco_ that Harry loved it instantly. It was filled with modern furniture and there was at least one mirror in every room they passed on the way to the kitchen.

Once there Draco prepared tea for the two of them and filled a bowl with water for Lucifer.

“No house elves?” Harry wondered.

Draco chuckled. “You expected that, huh? I decided I wouldn’t need them as long as I’m not living here full time. And even then I’ll still do the cooking myself. I like it, it’s soothing. And similar enough to Potions for me to be good at it.”

Harry sat down in one of the comfortable white leather chairs. “That’s nice. Maybe we can cook together sometime.” He offered.

“Yeah, that would be great actually. I bet it’ll be fun to cook together.”

Draco put a mug of tea in front of Harry and then sat down opposite from him with his own mug-

Harry found he could really get used to this. It was nice to sit with Draco not in their rooms but in Draco’s own house with an extremely big and fluffy dog at his feet. Looking up to Draco he saw a completely content smile on his face.

“It’s good to be away from Hogwarts for a while, don’t you think?” Draco asked him suddenly.

Harry thought about it and could only agree with Draco. Even though they had their own rooms the constant presence of other people was still a little uncomfortable. No matter where in the castle they were, they were still in the same building and thus definitely too close. Now there were just hundreds of yards of nothingness surrounding them, the perfect place to relax from the strain the life in Hogwarts was putting on them.

“Yeah. It’s relaxing. But we have to be back by curfew tonight, right?”

“Sadly yes. But maybe we can come back next week. And in the holidays we’ll have two full weeks away from all the business, right?”

“Uh… I guess…”

“Don’t you want to spend Christmas with me?” Draco looked genuinely hurt.

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Harry reached out over the table and took one of Draco’s hands in his. “It’s just… will we have Christmas at the Manor?”

“No. No amount of decoration could make the Manor look festive nowadays. Mother’s just still living there because she’s way too nostalgic for her own good. We’ll spend Christmas Eve with my aunt Andromeda and her grandson Teddy, I think you know her. Mother made amends with her after the war. Christmas Day we’ll be here and Boxing Day you could meet your friends if you wanted to.”

“Thank you. But I don’t think I will spend Boxing Day at the Burrow. Ron and Ginny still don’t get along with you and I’m sure Molly will be disappointed that I won’t be marrying her daughter. Not to forget they will probably be mourning Fred’s death.”

“I still think we should go. I can stand a few accusing looks and hexes and you’re practically part of the family to them, especially to the twins as you helped them start their business.” Harry looked at him shocked. No one but he and the twins knew about his involvement with their shop. “Yes, I know you gave them the money you won at the Triwizard Tournament. It was just too convenient to be a coincidence that they dropped out of school the year after you acquired a great amount of money.”

“You Slytherins are much too clever for your own good. I never would’ve fit in.” Harry muttered.

“You mean?” Draco asked.

“The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin. It said Slytherin would help me on the way to greatness.”

“You’re right. You never would’ve fit in. You wear your heart on your sleeve and though Slytherins would have protected you from the other houses they would’ve used that to their own advantage. You would’ve been dead in Slytherin, especially without me as a friend.”

“You were part of the reason I didn’t want to be in Slytherin. You were such a prat back then and reminded me too much of my cousin for me to like you. The other part was that Hagrid told me that there had never been a wizard who had turned bad who hadn’t been in Slytherin.”

“But I’ve improved greatly, don’t you think? My level of pratness decreased quite a lot, especially around you and your friends.”

Harry laughed. “Yeah, it definitely did. You make a great friend now.”

“Thank you. Are you done with your tea? I think Lucifer needs a walk.”

“Huh? Yeah, I’m done.”

Draco took the mugs and rinsed them with a handy spell before he levitated them back into the cupboard. As he saw Harry looking at him with curiosity he raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you don’t know simple housekeeping spells.”

“No, I don’t…”

“I’ll show you in the holidays. Now let’s take Lucifer on a walk and then buy something for lunch in the pet-friendly grocery store in the next town.”

“Alright.” Harry got up and walked up to Draco’s side taking his hand.

Draco looked at him with a raised brow but when he saw Harry’s content smile he just shrugged and went with it. It felt good so he wouldn’t complain.

Without letting go of Harry’s hand, Draco put Lucifer on his leash and they left the house.

As soon as they left the house, Lucifer started sniffling around, pulling them along with his leash.

“He’s never been here before.” Draco explained. “I haven’t been able to take him before school started again.”

“So, you’re the only one who’s been here before?”

“Yeah. Not even my parents know where it is exactly. It’s my sanctuary now that I can’t stand living in the Manor anymore. And before you ask, yes, I took you here because I trust you and because I wanted to ask you to move here with me after school.”

Harry’s face lit up in a smile. “I would really like living here with you. The house is great and from what I’ve seen of the neighbourhood so far, I like it too. Is it a Wizarding area?”

Draco chuckled. “Of course it is. Can you imagine me living amidst Muggles?”

“No, not at all. But I could show you a few Muggle things and you could introduce me to Wizarding traditions… it’s not like anyone ever told me more than I had to know. Sometimes not even that. Some Muggleborns know more than me when they start at Hogwarts.”

“I will show you everything. It’s your birth right, after all.”

Meanwhile they had reached the nearby park. Draco removed the leash from Lucifer’s collar again and let him run around. Then he and Harry sat down on one of the benches strewn across the park and watched Lucifer.

“Lucifer is really cute. When we looked at the photos he kinda reminded me of Sirius’ Animagus but not anymore. He behaves so completely different.”

“Sirius Black? He was your godfather, right?”

“Yeah. But I don’t want to talk about him, yet.”

“That’s okay. But remember that when you want to, I’ll always be there to listen.” Draco offered.

“I know. Thank you, Draco. It’s just hard…”

“Come here.” Draco said and opened his arms to hug Harry. Harry managed a weak smile and pressed his upper body into Draco’s chest. They sat like that until Lucifer came back and interrupted them, barking loudly.

“Let’s get up. I think Lucifer wants back. We’ll bring him back and then go to the stores alone.” Draco said.

“Okay.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kind comments and all the Kudos. I'm glad you like Lucifer :D. Here's a new chapter with a lot of fluff!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated!

The store was nothing like Harry had imagined it to be. He had imagined something similar to the shops in Diagon Alley but the shop that came closest to the design of the grocery store was Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes. It was shrill and colourful. Everywhere he looked he saw flashing ads for Pumpkin Juice or Bertie Bott’s Every Flavoured Beans.

What he hadn’t expected either was that it was organized similar to a Muggle grocery store with several isles filled with food and drinks and even some stationary and novels.

Draco seemed to know what he wanted and led him through the isles, picking one thing or another from the shelves.

“Is there anything else you need?” Draco asked on their way to the cash desk.

“Uh… no. Not that I can think of. Do you have Pumpkin Juice?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Of course I have Pumpkin Juice. You _love_ Pumpkin Juice. And I have chocolate because _I_ love chocolate.”

“Gee, thanks. I finally know what to get you for Christmas.”

“Harry Potter! Don’t you dare just get me chocolate for Christmas!”

At the name Harry Potter several heads turned.

“And here goes nothing…” Harry sighed.

“Oh fuck. I didn’t think… Sorry, Harry.”

“It’s alright. Let’s just pay and then apparate away from here.”

 

When they had finally fought their way through the masses of admirers and fans and paid for their purchase they made their way outside and Harry grabbed Draco’s hand so he could apparate them back to his house.

They reappeared on the front steps to Draco’s house. Draco unlocked the door and then pressed something in Harry’s hand.

“As you’re planning to move in with me anyway I don’t see any reason not to give you the key to the house now.”

“I already wanted to ask this when we came here, but why do you use a key and not locking spells?”

“It’s safer.” Draco simply said. “You can only use this key when I’ve given it to you of my own free will and you can only use it when you’re under no mind controlling spells or potions. Also the door is practically wrapped in protection and screening spells and you will trigger quite a few nasty spells should you enter the grounds with malicious intent. It’s as safe as it can be without being under a Fidelius Charm.”

“Thank you.” Harry threw his arms around Draco in a hug. “I know you always tell me that you trust me but now you show me that you trust me with this, with the key to your sanctuary and just… thank you so much!” then he got on the tips of his toes and gave Draco a short kiss.

Draco just stood there like a marble statue, unable to process what had just happened. When the thought that Harry had just kissed him had finally reached his brain, he started smiling. Looking at Harry he saw trepidation about his reaction and a hint of surprise about his own actions.

“May I kiss you?” Draco asked carefully.

Harry blinked in confusion, not really expecting the reaction.

“Uh… yes?”

“Thank you.” Draco breathed. He put a finger under Harry’s chin to tilt his head up. Then he placed a small chaste kiss on Harry’s lips.

Harry smiled, too, then and hugged Draco again.

“I love you so much, Draco.” He whispered.

“I love you, too, Harry. But we should start with lunch now. I’m starving.”

Harry chuckled, because this was just so Draco. Not dismissing what happened but acknowledging it and moving on.

“Alright, then let’s go.”

 

Half an hour later they ate pasta with tomato sauce and Lucifer was enjoying his food in a corner of the room.

“Harry, the sauce is divine.” Draco moaned between bites. Harry blushed, not used to getting compliments for anything he did, least of all for his cooking skills.

Draco looked up from his plate and at Harry as he didn’t get an answer. “I mean it, Harry. The sauce tastes really great. I swear to you, I’m going to shower you in compliments until you are able to accept them.”

Harry showed him a small smile and then went back to his meal.

 

After lunch they took Lucifer on a walk again. When they came back they collapsed on the couch in front of the fire in the spacious living room. Draco curled up against Harry’s side, still feeling cold from the constantly blowing wind.

“You’re a really nice human heater.” He said.

“Would you kiss me again?” Harry blurted out.

“Of course I would. I really liked the kiss. I really liked kissing _you_. I would do it right know if you wanted me to because you are kissably cute right now.”

Harry smiled, relieved. “I want you to.”

Smiling as well, Draco slid his fingers over Harry’s cheek, gently holding his face before he connected their lips once again. The kiss was just as innocent as the previous ones but this time, they both participated making it that much sweeter.

“Does this change our relationship?” Harry asked carefully.

“Do you want it to change our relationship?” Draco asked in return.

“I… I don’t know.” Harry admitted and sighed. “Ever since Halloween I think about how it would be to have a romantic relationship with you and it terrifies and excites me equally. What if we don’t work out as a couple? What if you want sex someday and I still don’t?”

“Then we’ll find a way for this to work. Because I want it to work. And judging by how much you think about it, you want it to work, too. Of course it will be hard, we did nothing but fight for seven years and I don’t expect that to suddenly stop. Just because we haven’t fought for two months doesn’t mean we won’t ever fight or disagree. Hell, with us it’s bound to happen. But it will work out somehow; don’t let the _What Ifs_ stop you, Harry.”

“So… we should try it?”

“Yeah. But I would appreciate it if you didn’t refer to me as your boyfriend.” Draco asked.

“Yeah, I noticed you were uncomfortable with it when Hermione brought it up on Halloween. But what should I call you then?”

“I know it sounds terribly awkward, but please call me your romantic partner when you talk to other people. And when we’re alone you can call me any pet name you can think of.”

“Alright, honey.” Harry said grinning.

“Thank you sweetheart.” Draco replied teasingly. They looked at each other and started laughing uncontrollably.

“Okay, maybe pet names aren’t for us. Let’s stick with Harry and Draco for now. Took us long enough to even get there.” Draco said when he managed to stop laughing.

 

When they got back to Hogwarts in the evening they felt the weight of the surrounding people weighing them down again.

“I want back,” Harry whined as soon as they were alone in their rooms. “There are too many people here. How in hell do they expect me to finish school like this?”

Draco could only agree wholeheartedly. He felt a headache coming on and felt pretty exhausted in general.

“Let’s go to McGonagall. We’re going to be home-schooled as soon as possible.” He proposed.

“Yes, please. The constant coldness was bad enough; I won’t be tortured by this headsplitting headache for the rest of the year or even this term.”

After a lengthy talk with the Headmistress they were allowed to spend the rest of the school year away from school. They would get the classwork and any homework owled and would send their essays back as soon as they were finished. They were even allowed to take their NEWTs separately from the rest of the Seventh and Eighth Years to ensure they had a minimum of comfort to be able to concentrate.

They packed all their belongings in record time, considering they both had terrible headaches and were off school grounds again before curfew.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 350 Kudos and almost 100 comments, this is amazing guys! I hope you like the new chapter.
> 
> Kudos and Comments are appreciated.

Upon arriving at their house they noticed that it was eerily quiet without Lucifer around but they decided to get him the next day as they were both too exhausted to handle a hyperactive dog before they had a good night’s sleep.

Draco decided to still firecall Malfoy Manor to tell his mother about the change in plans.

“Draco! Why aren’t you back at Hogwarts yet?” she inquired the second her head appeared in the flames.

“We were.” Draco said. “We couldn’t stand it there; the headache was terrible. So we talked to McGonagall and she allowed for us to finish our education from here, as far away from people as possible.”

“I’m sorry, Draco. I should’ve known this would happen. You won’t be able just to live on like you did now that you had a day on your own. Dragon Children and their Drakhonos don’t react well to negative change, especially when they’re still young. But you should be okay next year when you attend your NEWTs at least for a few hours at a time.”

“Yes, thank you Mother. We will go to bed now. It’s late and the little time we spent at Hogwarts exhausted us.” Draco pointed out.

“Of course. Will you get Lucifer tomorrow or do you need a few days to settle in properly?”

“We’ll get him tomorrow. We’ll have him settle in with us.”

“Very well. Good night, my Dragon.”

“Good night, Mother.”

Draco ended the firecall and went upstairs to finally get to bed. Harry was already fast asleep in the second bed he had the house elves from the Manor put in his room. So he got ready for bed as well and fell asleep the second he hit the mattress, still lying on top of the covers.

 

On Sunday they both woke up late. The headache and any lingering uneasiness had completely disappeared over night.

“Oh thank Merlin.” Harry murmured as he climbed out of bed. “The headache is gone but now I’m bloody hungry.” That came as no surprise as they had both missed dinner the other day because of their talk with the Headmistress.

The incoherent mumbling from the direction of Draco’s bed seemed to agree with him. Then he appeared from underneath the pile of blankets he had somehow hid underneath in the middle of the night.

“The bathroom’s right through that door in case you want to shower before breakfast.” Draco pointed to a second door in the room that Harry hadn’t noticed when he had stumbled into bed the previous night.

“Yes, thank you. I think I’ll do that.”

After they’d both had a refreshing shower they went downstairs, again only dressed in their pyjamas and prepared a simple breakfast together.

“I told Mother we’ll get Lucifer today some time, is that okay with you?” Draco asked after he had his first gulp of coffee.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Great. But I don’t think we should tell her about our new relationship yet. I don’t want to have secrets from her but I think for now it’s better for as few people as possible to know about it.”

“Yeah. The rumours about us are bad enough as it is. I’d rather keep it private as long as possible, seeing as we’re both quite the celebrities.”

Draco smiled. “That’s what I was talking about. I wasn’t sure whether you’d rather make our relationship public as soon as possible, like the Gryffindor you are.”

“No. I like privacy. I don’t want all of my life spread out for everyone to read in the _Prophet_. Especially because most of it was.”

Draco got up from his place across from Harry and walked around the table to stand next to him.

“Would you please stand up? I want to hug you.” He said.

Harry got up and accepted the hug from Draco, burying his face in his shoulder.

“I’ll make sure no one will write anything about you unless you explicitly tell them to. I promise.”

“Thank you.” Harry said. He felt like it was the only thing he ever said to Draco, so often had he said it since they had become friends in October. He simply didn’t know how else to show his gratitude for everything Draco did for him. He wasn’t good with words and there hadn’t been a situation where his Gryffindor personality would’ve helped him so far except for that one time when he had stood up for Draco during lunch in the Great Hall.

“I feel like I don’t deserve you.” He mumbled into the fabric of Draco’s pyjamas but Draco had still heard him.

“Why would you think that?” he asked.

“You do all these things for me and I don’t really have anything I can give back to you.”

“But you do so much, Harry. You’re here with me even though we’ve hated each other for so long and you’re nice to my mother and you like my dog. Ever since we’ve become friends you haven’t made a single comment about my Dark Mark even though it was visible almost every day at some point. You’ve even defended me in front of your friends. What more could I ask for?”

“You could have someone who actually wants to have sex with you.” Harry insisted.

“Harry, please look at me.” Harry lifted his head from Draco’s shoulder and looked up at him.

“Sex. Is. Not. Important. To. Me. I want to be with someone I can go on fancy dates with. Someone I can spoil. Someone I can talk about the universe with at 3 am when we both can’t sleep. Someone who will hold me when I have a nightmare or a breakdown or when I just want to cry.” Draco leaned his forehead on Harry’s and looked him deep in the eyes. “You’re perfect for me, Harry. I don’t believe in fate but she said we belong together so we belong together. And I know that I love you and that won’t ever change.”

Only when Draco wiped away his tears with his thumbs Harry noticed that he had started to cry again.

“I’m sorry.” He sobbed. “It’s just… that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Everyone expects me to be their Saviour, their hero, but not you. You just see Harry and I can’t even tell you how thankful I am for that.”

Draco hugged Harry again and slowly stroked his back to calm him down. ”Don’t apologize for crying.” He soothed. “You’ve been through so much; you’re allowed to cry, even about small things like this. And please don’t thank me again, I’m beginning to feel ridiculous with the amount of times you thanked me in the last month.”

Harry let out a teary laugh.

“Are you better now?” Draco asked.

“Yeah… a lot.” Not saying _thank you_ again was quite the feat for Harry but he managed it.

“Great. Then let’s get back to breakfast now and get Lucifer from Mother after wards.”

“Wait.” Harry said as Draco had already turned around to go back to his place.

“Yes?”

“Can I kiss you again?”

“Yes. I would love that.” Draco turned around fully and stepped in front of Harry again. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco’s neck and pulled him closer until their lips almost touched. “Thank you,” he whispered and kissed Draco.

Draco sighed blissfully as Harry buried his hands in his hair, gently stroking his scalp.

“I really, really love your hair.” Harry whispered after their kiss, still playing with the long strands. “And I’d like to brush it sometime, can I?”

“Sure.” Draco smiled. “All you had to do was ask. You can do it tonight if you want to.” Draco pulled Harry’s hand out of his hair, kissed the knuckles and then finally went back to his breakfast.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still amazed that so many people read this. You rock!
> 
> I don't know if the future updates will be as frequently as they are now because I currently have a little writer's block when it comes to this story.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated.

Their second trip to the Manor to pick up Lucifer was significantly less dramatic than the last time. Narcissa expected them at the gates and handed Harry Lucifer’s leash and Draco a small bag.

“In there is everything you will need for Lucifer. I’ll have the house elves bring your clothes to your house this afternoon.” She explained.

“Thank you, Mother. Maybe we could meet for lunch next weekend?”

“That would be lovely. I will see you then, Draco, Harry.”

“Until then, Mother. We will send you an owl once we decided where to go.”

Draco gave his mother a small kiss on the cheek and they disapparated again with Lucifer in tow.

 

Back at the house Draco wasn’t in the mood to take Lucifer on a walk again so they took their homework and sat down in the garden. Lucifer was on a long leash that let him run through a big part of the garden so they wouldn’t have to worry about him for now.

“You don’t have to do Arithmancy and Ancient Runes any longer.” Draco stated as he took out one of his Arithmancy charts.

“Yeah. Thank Merlin for small victories. But I should probably write to my friends that we won’t come back to school any time soon.”

“Homework first. We should better send it today. What we don’t want is rumours flying around that we dropped out and this way the Professors can show the class that we do our work.” Draco reasoned.

“Yeah, you’re right. First homework, then letter.”

As they hadn’t done any of their work on Saturday it took well into the afternoon to finish all their essays and assignments and as they were done, Lucifer desperately demanded a walk. They had to jog the whole way to the park to keep up with him.

Once there, Draco let him off his leash again and then took Harry’s hand, walking with him around the park.

“I just realized…” Draco began. “You should probably go to the Ministry and register your Animagus now that we’re out of school.”

“Oh shit.” Harry exclaimed. “Yeah. I should probably do that tomorrow. Would you come with me, I mean for the legal stuff?”

Draco chuckled. “Of course I’ll come. Even if it’s just to hold your hand.”

 

Before they went to bed that evening Draco sat down on his bed with his back to Harry and handed him a hair brush.

“You wanted to brush my hair, right?” Draco asked as Harry didn’t make any move to start brushing his hair.

“Uh… yeah. Right, I forgot I told you that.”

Harry conjured a chair and sat down before he finally started brushing Draco’s hair.

The brush practically glided through Draco’s soft hair and Harry couldn’t help getting jealous. His own mane was a nightmare to care for in comparison to Draco’s silky wonder-hair.

Soon Draco almost purred in contentment at the feeling of Harry’s hands in his hair and on his scalp.

“You have to do this more often,” he decided as Harry had put the brush aside again.

“Of course, your highness,” Harry replied.

“Oh stop it!” Draco said smiling. “I’m not that demanding. And you won’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

“I know, Draco. But I really enjoy it.”

“Well, that’s good then. Do I get a goodnight kiss, Mr Potter?”

Harry smiled at him fondly. “Of course you do, Lord Malfoy.” He said and kissed him.

Without consciously thinking about it, they both lay down on Draco’s bed and fell asleep touching each other.

 

During the night Harry had rolled on top of Draco, Harry noticed when he woke up the next morning. He had just decided to get up and act like nothing happened, when Draco’s hand closed around his wrist.

“Would you please stay for a few more minutes? It feels good.”

Harry smiled and nodded, not awake enough to attempt to talk.

 

They flooed into the Ministry after breakfast. Harry wanted this to be over as soon as possible, being in the Ministry still made him feel like he had done something wrong. To his relief the office for the Registration of Animagi was nowhere near the courtrooms or the Department of Mysteries.

Behind the desk sat a middle aged woman who looked up as they entered.

“Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy, I presume?” She asked.

They both nodded.

“I’m Miss Dutton. Please sit down.”

Draco pulled out a chair for Harry, making him snicker. “Bloody pureblood.” He muttered under his breath but sat down anyway.

“Now, who of you has achieved his Animagus form?”

“I did, Miss.” Harry said.

“Alright, Mr Potter. If you would please fill out this form and then transform.”

She pulled a form out of her desk drawer and handed it to Harry. It asked for general information like name and date of birth and of course the animal one could transform into, but the last question was one Harry couldn’t answer.

“Do I have any special mark, Draco?” he asked.

“You have a black lightning bolt on your forehead, in the same spot your scar is now.”

“I do?” Draco nodded. “That is so cliché. Even as an Animagus I still have that stupid lightning bolt.” Harry sighed deeply.

“Are you finished, Mr Potter?” Miss Dutton interrupted.

“Yes… I’m done.”

“Then please transform now.” She gestured for him to stand up.

Harry concentrated and a second lather he had transformed into his Siberian Tiger Animagus. Miss Dutton walked around him once, noting the black lightning bolt on his forehead and then nodded.

“That is all, Mr Potter. You may transform back now.”

 

When they got back home again, a school owl was already waiting for them, carrying the notes for their Potions class. Draco relieved her from the scrolls and gave her an owl treat from his cloak pocket before she took off into the sky again.

“I propose we have lunch first and then start with schoolwork.” Draco said. “I won’t try to do Potions on an empty stomach.”

Harry found that doing his homework was way easier without the pressing presence of hundreds of pupils around him. In fact they were finished so early that they could squeeze in a second walk with Lucifer before they went to the grocery store again to buy something more than just the bare necessities.

 

Upon reaching the park they could hear laughter which was weird because the park had always been deserted the few times they had been there before.

Draco spotted her first. A girl about their age with long, curly brown hair was sitting on one of the benches, a book in her lap.

As Lucifer had spotted her, too, he pulled on his leash until they were walking in her direction.

The girl looked up from her book when they were still a few yards away and waved at them. Lucifer reached her first and instantly rubbed his snout on her jeans.

“Hello, buddy!” she said, smiling. “And who are you?”

“His name is Lucifer.” Draco said.

“Isn’t that name a little ill-fitting for such a cute dog?”

“He hasn’t complained, yet.”

“Well, that’s good then. The Dog Watcher approves.” She saluted and broke out in giggles.

Draco saluted back and then took Lucifer off his leash so he could run around again. Lucifer didn’t want to run around though. He sat down next the girl and looked up at her with big eyes.

“Can I pet him?” she asked, looking up at Draco.

“Yeah, sure. We’re only here because he wanted to meet you, after all.”

“Thank you. I’m Grace, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Grace. I’m Draco and this idiot here is Harry.”

“Aye, I’m not an idiot!” Harry complained.

“No, just incredibly thick sometimes.”

Grace smiled at their antics. “Are you two a couple?” she asked.

“Yeah, we are.” Draco said. “Is it really that obvious?”

“Uh… kinda? I don’t know… I’m always around my step brother and his boyfriend so maybe that’s why I noticed.”

“Oh thank Merlin.” Draco sighed. He wasn’t surprised that Harry’s friends thought they were in a relationship but if it was obvious to strangers he would be concerned.

“Merlin?” Grace asked. “So, you’re wizards?”

Harry started laughing. As Draco and Grace looked at him confused he pulled himself together and tried to explain.

“You can see that we’re a couple but not that we’re wizards?” he asked, trying not to laugh again.

“Well, it’s not like you have a tattoo that says _I went to Hogwarts_ on your forehead.”

“As that would be completely ridiculous, no we don’t. And technically we’re still in school.” Draco said.

“You’re not.”

“We are. Eighths Years. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy to your service. I take it you want an autograph?” Harry asked jokingly.

“No, thank you. I never understood the hype around the Boy Who Lived to be honest.”

“Draco?” Harry turned around to face him. “We’re keeping her, she’s cool. And Lucifer likes her.”

Draco and Grace chuckled. “Do you want to come back to ours for a cup of tea maybe?” Draco then offered.

“We still need to buy groceries.” Harry reminded him.

“Oh. Yeah. Right. Maybe you’re not quite as idiotic as I thought.” Draco admitted. “Will you be here tomorrow so we can ask you to come over for tea then?” he then asked Grace.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Alright, see you then.”

Again they first brought Lucifer home and then went to the grocery store. As they weren’t in such a hurry as the last time, Harry actually had time to look at the shelves and put some items in the cart that was steadily getting fuller.

About halfway through the store Draco had enough of pushing the heavy cart and tapped his wand to the handlebar so it would drive on its own.

“How do Muggles do this?” he asked Harry.

“They just suffer through it.”

“I’m so glad I’m not a Muggle.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took me so long to write this. I'm still not sure whether I'm really satisfied with how it turned out so tell me what you think. Also I'm not non-binary so please tell me should anything be inappropriate or simply wrong. Thank you.
> 
> Kudos and Comments are appreciated.

In the afternoon of the next day they took Grace back to their place with them. Lucifer spent most of the walk back to their house jumping up and down in excitement that his new friend accompanied them.

“Lucifer!” Draco finally snapped. “Behave!”

Lucifer let out a yowl and stopped wagging his tail almost instantly.

“Good boy!” Draco praised him.

Grace laughed and looked at Harry who wore an expression full of love directed at Draco and his dog.

“You really love him, don’t you?” she asked Harry.

“Yeah. I do. It took some time getting used to as we were enemies for seven years but now I really love him.”

 

Meanwhile they had reached their house and Draco unlocked the door to let them all in.

“Welcome to our home, Grace.” He said with and bowed way too deep to be taken seriously.

“It’s an honour. Mr Malfoy.” Grace replied and dropped a curtsy.

“And welcome to you, too, Mr Potter.” This time Draco didn’t bow but stepped up to Harry and gave him a small kiss.

“Thank you, Mr Malfoy.”

 

Harry showed Grace around their house a little while Draco made tea for all of them. Just like Harry she was completely amazed by the interior design and as soon as they entered the kitchen she complimented Draco on it.

“Thank you.” He said. “I worked the whole summer on it. It made a good distraction from everything that was happening in my family after the war.”

Harry looked at Draco questioningly when he mentioned the war and Draco signalled him they would talk about it when Grace had left.

Grace of course knew about the Malfoys’ involvement in the war and chose wisely not to comment on it further. She didn’t want to talk about depressing things during their second meeting after all. Instead she sat down at the table opposite from Draco and Harry at the table and wrapped her hands around the mug Draco offered her.

“Sugar? Milk?” he asked.

“No, I’m good.”

“Completely mental is more like it. But who am I to judge other people’s tea? As long as I don’t have to drink it, it’s fine.” Draco stirred two spoons of sugar in his tea and then leaned back, satisfied.

“Where did you go to school? I don’t remember seeing you at Hogwarts.” Harry asked.

“That’s because I went to Beauxbatons. I graduated two years ago and now I have an apprenticeship at St Mungo’s. I want to become a Healer.”

 

They went on talking for a few hours, until Harry felt an unpleasant headache coming on that he had learned to connect to the fact that he needed time alone with Draco. He told Draco as much and together they said their sudden goodbyes to Grace as polite as possible.

“Is it better now?” Draco asked concerned when Grace had left.

“Yeah. I’m sorry we had to end this so suddenly.” Harry replied.

“It’s alright, Harry. Your wellbeing is more important to me than acting polite and socially acceptable and I’m glad you told me about your headache.” Draco assured him. Then he pulled him into a tight hug. “I love you and you’ll always come first.”

“I love you, too.”

 

“Uh… Draco?” Harry asked while they were making dinner, remembering that Draco had wanted to talk to him about the time after the war.

“Yes?” Draco stopped cutting the carrots and turned to look at him.

“About what you said to Grace earlier about the time after the war…”

“We’ll talk about it after dinner, alright?” Draco offered.

“Okay. Yeah, that’s good.”

Draco smiled gratefully at Harry and then continued to cut the carrots.

 

After dinner they both curled up on the sofa in front of the fire in their living room, desperate to be as comfortable as possible while talking about such an unpleasant topic.

Harry started playing with Draco’s long hair once again and soon Draco was relaxed enough to start talking.

“It was hard.” He began. “Mother and Father both knew that they would have to face the music sooner or later but they both refused to talk about it. But it was always there, the knowledge that the court dates would be soon and that we would all have to pay for our actions in the war. It made the air thick and hard to breathe. I love my father but it was actually relieving when he had to go to Azkaban for all the things he had done because it meant that Mother couldn’t ignore the truth any longer and that I was freer than ever to do and think what I wanted to.”

Draco snuggled closer to Harry and took Harry’s hand in both of his before he continued.

“But I also knew my court date would be soon. I expected to join my father in Azkaban, I really did. But then you were there, my knight in shining armour, and testified on my behalf and all I had to do was to finish school and to stay at one of the Malfoy residences for the time before I left to Hogwarts again.”

“You wouldn’t have survived in Azkaban.” Harry remarked, not sure whether his comment was appropriate in this situation.

“No, I really wouldn’t have. But it isn’t easy like this either, with both sides of the war hating me. I can be glad that the people in the grocery store only care about the money and not who it comes from. But I’m glad that I can be here with you like this.”

“I am, too.” Harry said and pressed a sweet kiss to Draco’s temple.

“Do you want to know what it was like after the court date or should I tell you that another time?”

“That depends on you. Do you _want_ to tell me? Are you _ready_ to tell me?” Harry asked gently, his hands playing with Draco’s hair.

“I… I don’t know. You deserve to know but… I can’t help but fear your reaction.” Draco looked down, not wanting to look Harry in the eyes after this admission.

“Draco…” Harry whispered, his voice still gentle. “Draco, please look at me.”

Draco slowly raised his head again until his grey eyes found Harry’s emerald ones. He swallowed once. “Yes?”

“It’s alright. You don’t have to tell me now. But you should know that whatever it is that you want to tell me, I could never stop loving you.”

“Are you sure?” Draco asked, what Harry had said too overwhelming for him to simply believe it.

“Of course. I would never say that if I wasn’t absolutely sure about it and neither would I lie about something like that when you’re obviously uncomfortable.”

“Thank you, Harry. I love you, too.”

Draco wound himself out of Harry’s arms then, not comfortable like that, considering that he still wasn’t sure whether Harry would really still want to be with him after he had told him about his biggest secret. Harry let him, realizing that what Draco would tell him was important to him and that he needed to be as comfortable as possible to tell Harry.

“I haven’t talked about this with anyone before, so I really don’t know where to begin.” Draco admitted, while he watched his hands play with the hems of his sleeves.

“How about the beginning?” Harry suggested, hoping to sound understanding rather than patronizing.

“Uh, yeah…” Draco stammered. “That would be logical.”

He shifted once again on the sofa so that at least his feet were touching Harry’s thighs and then slowly began to speak.

“Well once my father was off to Azkaban I had, as I said, a lot more freedom to think and do what I wanted to rather than what was expected of me. That led to me questioning first my sexuality and then also my gender. I’ve envied girls for their dresses for ages so one of the first things I did was disguise myself and look for a nice dress for myself to wear when I felt like it and no one was around.”

Draco closed his eyes, expecting Harry to lash out at him for wanting to wear a dress. But Harry didn’t. Instead he gently took Draco’s hand in his. At the touch, Draco slowly opened his eyes and looked directly into Harry’s loving gaze that was centred on him.

“I bet you’d look stunning in a dress.” Harry said then, his thumb slowly stroking the back of Draco’s hand.

“I do.” Draco agreed and felt a lot lighter now that Harry hadn’t yet reacted negatively to what he had told him. “That’s also why I don’t like the word boyfriend because I feel like my gender is somewhere outside the gender binary, so to say I’m not a boy and rather a person.”

“What are your pronouns?” Harry then asked, surprising Draco once again. He even blushed at Harry’s understanding and thoughtfulness, for once not caring about what his father would think if he saw him now.

“He/him for now.” He said and then crawled back into Harry’s open arms, infinitely relieved that he had finally told Harry and that Harry accepted him as he was.

 

“Draco?” Harry asked after a few minutes spent in silence.

“Yes?”

“You still haven’t told me what happened after your trial.”

Draco chuckled. “Oops. But it was enough talking for tonight, don’t you think? We can talk about it tomorrow.”

Harry chuckled, too and tugged Draco closer before he kissed him lightly.

“That was the first time you kissed me without asking before.” Draco observed.

“I… sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize. I liked it. But I like it when you ask me, too.” Draco hurried to say.

“May I kiss you again?” Harry asked.

“I would be positively delighted if you did.”

Harry gently put his hands on both of Draco’s cheeks and leaned in to put a chaste kiss on his lips.

“Like that?”

“No, more like this.”

Draco turned around in Harry’s embrace and pulled him into a deep kiss. His hands were buried in Harry’s perfectly messy hair and he licked over Harry’s lower lip until Harry opened his mouth a fraction, just enough for Draco to let his tongue slip inside and taste Harry properly.

They only ended the kiss when oxygen was starting to become a problem and even then their faces stayed close, their foreheads almost touching.

“That was amazing.” Harry whispered.

“It was.” Draco agreed his smile bright and his eyes sparkling with happiness.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is short but I just had to end it where I did. as always thanks for all the Kudos and Comments, they really keep me going.

That night, Draco couldn’t fall asleep. He had told Harry his biggest secret and he still couldn’t get his head around the fact that Harry had reacted so accepting. He had at least expected questions. Lots of them. Whether he was sure about this. Whether that would change things between them. He had counted on accusations. That it was just a phase. That he should’ve told Harry earlier. Maybe even that he was just making things up. Hell, he wouldn’t have been surprised, if Harry had just left.

“Harry? Are you still awake?” he finally asked into the darkness of their bedroom.

“Yeah.” Harry lit his wand so they would be able to see each other. “What are you worried about?”

“How did you… forget it.”

“You were tossing and turning. That’s how I noticed. Now, what is it?”

Draco sat up on his bed, facing Harry.

“Did you really mean it? What you said this evening?”

“Of course I did.”

“Why?” Draco demanded. “How could you accept this all so easily? It took me several weeks to come to term with it.”

“Luna’s first boyfriend was trans and Hermione made us read all these texts about gender and gender identity. So I already know at least the basics. And considering I’m panromantic rather than gay it isn’t an issue for our relationship either. I love you Draco and there are very few things that would make me want to break up with you.”

“Such as?”

“Lying, cheating, keeping things from me for no reason… becoming the next Dark Lord and not inviting me in for the ride…”

Draco chuckled, relieved that Harry could apparently joke about it.

“Dragon Children are Light creatures. I don’t think I will turn Dark any time soon.”

“And what about the other things?” Now it was Harry’s turn to be insecure. He knew that Draco loved him but that didn’t keep his brain from creating the most ridiculous scenarios about what Draco could keep from him.

“I would never do any of that voluntarily. I didn’t even think about it.” Draco hurried to assure Harry. “I love you and I would be a fool to throw what we have away. I’ve never been as close to anyone as I am to you now and it’s really nice and reassuring to have someone to confide in, no matter what about.”

“Thank you.” Harry said visibly relieved. “Would you sleep in my bed with me tonight?”

“Of course.” Draco said the smile evident in his voice. Then he got up from his bed and joined Harry in his. He lay down on his back and Harry snuggled up to his side, his head lying on Draco’s chest.

“Good night, Harry.” Draco whispered and kissed Harry’s forehead.

“Good night, Draco.” Harry replied and pressed a small kiss to Draco’s bare chest.

Draco then proceeded to pull the covers over the two of them and was asleep in mere minutes. His last conscious thought was that he couldn’t wish for anything better than what he had now.

Harry stayed awake for a little longer but was soon lulled into sleep by Draco’s deep even breathing and his soothing heartbeat.

 

“Harry, would you come here for a second?” Draco was once again curled up on the sofa in front of the fire place, reading the Dragon Child’s diary. He had found an interesting passage he wanted to show Harry.

“What is it, Draco?” Harry asked as he came out of the kitchen where he was currently preparing lunch.

“I think I know why we felt so terrible when we came back to Hogwarts the other day.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. Here, read this.”

 

_As soon as I entered the pub I got a headache and one look at Lavon told me he didn’t seem to feel any better._

_“There’s something evil here, I can feel it.” He whispered. Not able to keep our curiosity in check, we crept forwards, our headaches increasing the closer we got to the source of evil. Finally we entered a hidden backroom and the sight made both our breaths stop for long seconds._

 

“What did they see?” Harry asked once he had processed what he had just read.

“It doesn’t say here. But it couldn’t have been pleasant.”

Harry nodded. “So you think there is something evil in Hogwarts?”

“Yes. We should warn McGonagall. It would be best if we flooed her right away.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to her and you pack everything we’ll need when we’re back at Hogwarts. Then you floo call your mother so we can bring her Lucifer. We have to act fast; it might already be too late.” Harry instructed.

“What in hell did I think, getting involved with a Gryffindor…?” Draco muttered but went upstairs to pack everything they would need for a few days. They could always come back for the rest should they want to come back to Hogwarts once the _evil_ was gone.

 

Two hours later they were all packed, everything important stuffed in two bags, Lucifer on a leash and the keys to the house stuffed into their pockets. They locked the door from the inside, took one last look around and then disappeared through the Floo to first drop off Lucifer at the Manor and then Floo to Hogwarts from there.

 

The Headmistress already waited for them in her office, a frown marring her face.

“Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy. How do you feel?” she asked, getting straight to the matter at hand.

“The headache is coming back again.” Draco stated.

“And according to what Mr Potter told me, the headache would increase with proximity to the source?”

“Yes, Headmistress. At least that’s what I found in the Dragon Child’s diary.”

“Very well. I already informed the Order, they should be here any minute. Once they’re here you’re to locate this evil inside of Hogwarts and then let them deal with it. No stubborn heroics from either of you, do you understand me?”

Harry and Draco both just nodded mutely, both having no desire whatsoever to fight anything now that the war was over. But before they could even start their search their headaches multiplied as the door to the Headmistress office opened and the Order poured in.

Draco repressed a sigh. Yes, this was exactly what he needed. A traitor. With a swish of his hand the door closed behind the last Order member and got locked with a Dragon Seal. It was the first time Draco trusted his instincts and he was glad he did. The Dragon Seal could only be broken by the one who had placed it.

“We have a traitor in our midst.” He stated calmly.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished this chapter today, it wasn't that easy. Please tell me what you think in the comments.

Would you care to explain what you mean, Mr Malfoy?” Professor Flitwick enquired.

“My headache just increased tenfold, meaning one of the people currently in this room is the evil presence that is plaguing me and Harry.” Draco explained.

Without exception everyone looked at both him and Harry, obviously shocked. A split second later someone fired a spell in Harry’s direction but before in could hit its target, Draco shifted into his Dragon form, just way smaller to be able to fit into the cramped office. One of his wings was curled around Harry protectively and he grumbled deeply.

Harry petted the wing keeping him safe, reassuring not only Draco but also himself that everything was okay, at least for now.

“ _Are you hurt?_ ” Draco asked in a low grumble.

“ _No, your Dragon Magic protected me. But I could feel who cast the spell._ ”

“ _Who did?_ ” Draco demanded, feeling the anger growing inside him.

“ _The one over there with the green robes who looks a little like Professor Snape._ ” Harry told him, not daring to point at him, guessing he had probably more tricks up his sleeve. For now they had the element of surprise as no one but they could understand Drakhan, the Dragon language.

Turning around to face Harry fully Draco locked his eyes with Harry and began to speak again.

“ _Listen, I’m going to put a very strong protection spell on you in case his reflexes are fast enough for him to act before I have him in my claws. He wanted to hex you,_ my _mate, and based on the Laws concerning Dragon Children it’s my right to deal with him in any way I see fit. I won’t kill him; I won’t give him that mercy, but instead give him some lifelong wounds. Are you okay with that?_ ”

“ _What do you mean when you say lifelong wounds?_ ”

“ _Wounds that won’t heal fully or break up every once in a while until he dies._ ”

Harry thought back on the spell that had glowed sickly green with the colour of the Killing Curse. _Yes_ , he thought. This man definitely deserved the punishment Draco had picked for him. He knew it wasn’t like him to agree with any means of torture but the only thing he could think about was Draco’s devastated face and anguished cries, had the Killing Curse hit him.

“ _I think your punishment justified._ ” He told Draco and gave him a small kiss on the side of the Dragon’s muzzle. A second later he felt Draco’s protection spell envelope him like a cloak until it reached his feet and he couldn’t feel it any longer. As he looked up, Draco had already transformed back, though not fully. The hand with which he held the wizards neck and pressed it against the wall was still clawed and covered in scales.

“Peter Dogan.” Draco snarled, looking the other wizard straight in the eyes, his own eyes burning with fury.

“Draco Malfoy.” Dogan replied.

“You will pay greatly for attempting to kill my mate.”

As no one uttered any words of protest Draco growled a spell in Drakhan that would make sure the wounds he inflicted on the man now would last for all his life. Then he started the punishment by dragging his pointy Dragon claws over Dogan’s neck.

At his victim’s whimper he smiled evilly and dragged his claws downwards, over the green robes so they fell down his shoulders and then again over the shirt he wore underneath, leaving it in shreds. During all of this he was calm, relishing in every flinch and every whimper. His Dragon nature relished in this, getting rid of the evil before it could do further harm, firstly to his mate but also to all the other people he knew meant a lot to his mate and were slowly starting to become his friends as well.

After ten minutes filled with more whimpers and pleas and the occasional scream, Draco stepped back, admiring his artwork. “This will do nicely.” He purred, his claws transforming back into hands.

“You should take him to the hospital wing; I don’t want him bleeding in your office, Headmistress. Madam Pomfrey is allowed to heal the wounds and give him a blood replenishing potion but no pain potion. Keep in mind however that the wounds will reopen sooner should you give him more blood replenisher than absolutely necessary. We’re going to meet up with our friends now that we’re already here.” Draco stated and held out his hand for Harry to take.

Harry grabbed their bags they had thrown into a corner when they had arrived and then took Draco’s hand, leading him to Gryffindor tower where he guessed most of their friends would be at this time of the day.

They met them on their way down to lunch, only now remembering that they had left before they had the chance to eat. So after they had both received their fair share of hugs they followed the group into the Great Hall.

 

“What are you doing here?” Hermione was the first to ask once they were seated on the Gryffindor table. “I thought you had left the school because there are too many people here.”

“Well, yeah. That was what we thought. But it wasn’t the case. Having this many people so close still creates a light buzz in the back of our heads but the headaches had a different origin.” Harry told them.

“And? What was the origin?” Hermione asked Draco.

“There was someone in here who wished to harm us.” He stated plain and simple, causing several jaws to drop.

“Who?” Hermione asked further.

“Peter Dogan. A former associate of my father. He has never been intelligent to begin with but attacking the Drakhono of a Dragon Child with the Killing Curse, while said Dragon Child was standing right next to them, was by far the stupidest thing he has ever done.”

“The Killing Curse? I will kill that bastard!” Ginny half-shouted.

“Don’t worry; I have taken care of it as is my right. But I didn’t kill him. That would have been way too nice an option.”

“What did you do?” Ginny asked, wanting to make sure the punishment was sufficient. She had gotten over her hate for the Malfoy heir and now she had to make sure whether he was a fit life mate for her best friend.

“I slashed him open with my claws” Draco let his hand transform into the claw again and let the scales glitter in the candle light “after I cast an ancient Dragon spell on him so the wounds would last his whole life, opening over and over again. Then I told the teachers to bring him to Pomfrey and allowed for his wounds to be healed and Blood Replenishing Potion to be used. After all, it’s not half as fun if your victim dies too soon for you to enjoy it. However they weren’t allowed to use any Pain Potion and should they use more Blood Replenisher than necessary the wounds will open up again sooner.” His face was once again split by a terrifying grin that looked more Dragon than human.

A dull thud was heard as Hermione fell off the back of the bench unconscious next to Harry. Opposite of Harry, Ginny nodded in appreciation and held out her hand for Draco to shake.

“I appreciate what you do for my brother. I accept your relationship as long as you promise to continue to take good care of him.” She said.

Draco took her hand and shook it firmly. “Thank you, Ginevra. I will care for him as long as he can be persuaded to let me.”

Ginny chuckled. She had started to really like Draco. From what she had seen in the last minutes he was nothing like his father. “You’re right. He can be rather stubborn. But please call me Ginny. Only my mother calls me Ginevra and only when she’s angry.”

“Alright. Ginny, then. Harry didn’t tell me much about you, only about your brother and Granger.”

Ginny shot Harry a disapproving look at that. “You didn’t?”

“You’re my ex-girlfriend. It would have been a little awkward, don’t you think?”

“Well, you could’ve told him about the non-girlfriend parts. We’ve been friends for years before we became a couple.”

“Yeah. I could have. It just didn’t feel right.”

“It’s okay, Harry, really.” Draco reassured him, sensing his discomfort with the conversation. “I’m sure we’ll get to know each other better soon.”

“Yeah, you will.” Harry said smiling, glad that Draco seemed to get along so well with Ginny.

 

“You tortured him?” Hermione asked surprised once she had regained consciousness.

Harry and Draco both sighed. Now a lecture was sure to come.

“Yes. But I asked Harry before I did and he agreed that the punishment was appropriate.”

“So… you told him before you did it?”

“Of course I did. It was Harry he wanted to kill so I think it’s only logical for him to have a say in the punishment, even though it was my task to deliver it.” Draco explained his pride a little hurt at the unspoken accusation.

“But… How did you do it without him knowing what you would do? Surely there wasn’t enough time or space to cast a sufficient silencing spell?”

“ _Well, Harry dear, would you explain to her how I managed to do that?_ ” Draco growled with a smirk on his face.

“ _But of course, Draco dear._ ”

Hermione gasped as she heard the strange sounds. It sounded almost like… growling. And Harry and Draco both seemed to understand what the other said.

“That’s… that’s how you did it? This growling?”

“This _growling_ is Drakhan, the Dragon language. Only Dragons, Dragon Children and their Drakhonos can speak it. It’s pretty handy at times.” Draco explained, still smiling.

“ _Thank you for trying to get along with my friends._ ” Harry growled. “ _I love you, Draco._ ” The look of confusion and curiosity on his friends’ faces made him smile.

“ _I love you, too._ ” Draco replied growling and placed a kiss on Harry’s lips.

Everyone but Luna gasped. Luna just smiled satisfied.

“You’re boyfriends?” Hermione asked, almost as shocked as she was about Draco’s torturing.

“No. We’re a couple, not boyfriends.” Harry corrected.

“But… that’s the same…” Ron whined. Harry was surprised he didn’t protest more.

“It’s not. It’s our relationship and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t label it.” Draco asked politely.

Ron wanted to snap back but Hermione grabbed his sleeve and shot him a strict look. “Play nice, Ron.” She hissed, “Mal- Draco did nothing to offend you.”

“Thank you, Hermione.” Draco said. Harry just smiled and kissed Draco again.

“I’m glad you know now.” He said then. “I’m too happy with Draco to keep this from you.”

“I can see that.” Luna said, sitting next to Ginny, “I’m really happy for you both.”

“Thank you, Luna.” Harry said. “It means a lot.”

“To both of us. You’re a great friend, Luna.” Draco added.

Luna jumped over the table, miraculously not disturbing the meal sitting upon it and threw her arms around Draco.

“You’re a great friend, too, Draco.” She kissed his cheek and then returned to her seat as though nothing had happened.

Draco and Harry shared a smile. “I told you so.” Harry mouthed.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again thank you for the Comments and Kudos. They really motivate me to continue this. You rock!
> 
> Here's a new chapter for you. Please tell me what you think.

After dinner they went to their own rooms in Hogwarts once again. It looked like they had never been away in the first place. Everything was neat and tidy and the furniture stood in the places they had left it.

“I hate to admit it, but I kinda missed this.” Harry said upon entering the room.

“Me, too. The buzz of all the people around is kind of reassuring, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, as strange as it sounds. Would you mind playing the piano for me again?”

Draco shook his head. “Not in the least. Here, you can sit next to me.” Draco conjured a second stool and placed it right next to his own before sitting down. Harry sat down next to him and put his head on Draco’s shoulder.

“Could you play something calming? I’m still a little shaken from earlier.” Harry asked.

“Of course. I have just the thing in mind.”

Draco started playing another one of his own pieces called Summer Breeze. It was light and slow and so far it had always managed to calm him down.

“Thank you.” Harry whispered once Draco had played the final note. “It did an amazing job calming me down.”

“I’m glad. Now shall we switch to the loveseat? I think it would be more comfortable cuddling there.”

“Yeah, I would like that.” Harry smiled and let Draco lead him over to the loveseat in front of the fire. There he curled up on Draco’s lap and sighed in bliss.

“Have I ever told you how amazing it is to be with you?” Harry asked after a few minutes of silence.

“No you haven’t. Would you mind telling me?”

“You’re an amazing person, Draco, even though you might not think so yourself. You would do everything for your friends and family and that alone is impressive. On top of that you love me like I am with all my flaws and secrets and you leave me enough space, as difficult as that is in our present situation, and don’t pressure me into anything, be it talking about something or taking a step further in our relationship. You trust me and tell me so much about yourself even though you know so little about me from what I tell you. You’re amazing because you protect me and take care of me without making me feel patronized or like you pity me. I’ve never been as close to anyone as I am to you now, not even with Ginny and we were in a relationship for some time. I feel like I can tell you everything and you won’t judge me for it, and I _will_ tell you everything eventually.

“You try to get along with my friends even though you used to bully most of them before the war. And last but not least, you love me for who I am, rather than for one of the titles the public gave me or the fame or even my money. You just see Harry and I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that.”

At the end of Harry’s little speech, Draco had tears in his eyes.

“I didn’t know how important all of that was for you. Thank you, Harry, for telling me.”

Harry slid up Draco’s chest and kissed him slowly and lovingly. He gently wiped Draco’s tears away and then buried his hands in Draco’s hair to intensify the kiss.

Draco moaned in appreciation, giving Harry the opportunity to slide his tongue in his mouth, exploring it once again.

When they parted, Draco wore a sated smile.

“It feels good when you’re in charge.” He whispered a little out of breath.

“It feels good to be in charge.” Harry admitted, “The control makes me feel safer.”

“I’ll always let you have that control.” Draco promised.

“Thank you, Draco.”

 

That night, when they went to bed, Harry joined Draco in his bed.

“Hey you.” Draco greeted him.

“Hey. Can I sleep here?”

“Of course.” Draco slid over and held the blanket up for Harry to crawl into. “Come here.” Harry lay down with his head on Draco’s chest and Draco wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist, leaving them in a position similar to the one they had adapted the night before.

“Thank you for saving my life today.” Harry whispered.

“You’re very welcome.” Draco replied. Soon after, they both fell asleep.

 

The next morning Harry woke up first but stayed in bed, admiring Draco’s sleeping form. He looked so much younger and softer and his pale skin and white-blonde hair gave him an angelic air. Harry still couldn’t believe he deserved someone who was so utterly perfect inside and out like Draco. He knew Draco had his flaws and not only a few but to him they were insignificant.

It didn’t take long for Draco’s eyelids to flutter and open slowly. As he saw Harry looking at him, he smiled.

“Good Morning.” He mumbled sleepily.

“Good morning, Angel.”

Draco’s smile grew wider at the use of the pet name. Apart from his mother, who called him Dragon, no one had ever called him anything else than Draco or Malfoy and it made him very happy that Harry did and not just that. He thought him an angel when he was anything but.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked, stretching his arms over his head.

“Yeah.” Harry yawned. “It feels good to be so close to you during the night.”

“It does.” Draco agreed. “But I fear we’ll have to get up. Breakfast starts soon and we still have to decide whether we’ll come back now that Dogan has been taken care of or continue with our homeschooling.”

“I’d like to come back to Hogwarts, if you didn’t mind. This has been my home for seven years and I’d hate to leave earlier than we have to.”

Draco smiled, silently agreeing with Harry. Hogwarts was his way away from home and he’d hate to leave earlier than he had to.

“Then we’ll stay. We just have to tell McGonagall.”

 

Harry rolled off Draco and stretched before he got up and went to have a shower that would hopefully succeed in waking him up more thoroughly.

Draco stayed in bed until Harry re-entered the bedroom with wet hair and a towel around his waist.

“Looking good.” Draco purred, making Harry blush. They shared a small kiss and then Draco disappeared into the bathroom to start his own morning routine while Harry went to get dressed.

Half an hour later he was done in the bathroom and joined Harry on the loveseat clad in nothing more than a towel.

“Don’t you want to get dressed?” Harry teased.

“No. I have to tell you something first.” Draco said. His tone was serious rather than playful.

“Okay. I’m listening.” Harry said, his voice as reassuring and gentle as always.

“Well… you see… I’ve kept something a secret from you. And it wasn’t because you don’t deserve to know or because I thought you weren’t ready to hear it. I just wasn’t ready to tell you.”

“It’s alright, Draco.” Harry assured him. “I’m not mad. I take it you want to tell me now?”

“Yeah.” Draco sighed relieved. “I do.” He took one last breath and then just blurted it out. “Ever since my birthday Dragon scales have been growing all over my body.”

Harry looked surprised. Not repulsed or horrified but surprised. “Would you show me the scales?”

Draco nodded and then his skin seemed to shift, slowly revealing creamy white scales that formed small patterns all over his body. Harry gasped at the sight. They made Draco even more beautiful than he already was.

“Magnificent…” Harry breathed. Draco felt a great weight fall from his shoulders. “Can I touch them?”

Draco nodded. He took one of Harry’s hands in his and led it to a patch of scales covering his ribs. He started humming contentedly the moment Harry’s fingertips brushed the scales. The feeling was indescribable. The simple touch filled him with happiness and a feeling of rightness he had never experienced before.

Harry smiled at Draco’s reaction. It was nice to know that he could make Draco feel good with such a simple touch. He wasn’t entirely unaffected either. Touching the lively metal scales had a calming effect on him that worked better than any piano song or Calming Draught.

They shared another kiss and Draco went to get dressed and apply the glamour on his hair.

As he came back into the sitting room, he wore a cheeky grin.

“What is it?” Harry asked.

“Look behind my right ear.”

Harry gently brushed away the hair and smiled as he saw the small patch of scales hidden underneath it. Harry kissed it, making Draco moan.

“That feels so much better than simple touch…”

“That’s nice to know…” Harry said, wearing a devilish grin. “But we should head to breakfast now.” He grabbed Draco’s hand and led him out of their rooms in the direction of the Great Hall.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another new chapter for you guys. I'm posting this now because I'll be on holiday for the next two weeks so I'm not sure if I'll be able to post any new chapters.

Upon entering the Great Hall, Draco saw that Luna and Ginny had saved them seats between them at the Gryffindor table. Then he had an idea.

“Harry, what do you think, should we invite Ginny and Luna over during the Christmas holidays for a few days?” he asked Harry as they approached the table.

“Yeah, that would be nice.”

 

“Ladies, I have a proposal.” Draco announced as he flopped into one of the seats between them.

“And that is?” Ginny asked.

“We would like to invite you over to our house for a few days during the Christmas holidays.”

“Your house? Surely you don’t mean Malfoy Manor?”

“Of course not.” Draco assured them. “I bought my own house for my eighteenth birthday. I would never subject anyone to the horror that is Malfoy Manor. It’s really not fit to live in any longer. My mother still does though and I wish she would just burn it down and move to our summer manor in France.”

Harry squeezed Draco’s hand in silent comfort and then brushed over the scales behind his ear.

“Thank you.” Draco whispered.

“I would love to come.” Luna said. “I’ll write my father right after breakfast.”

“Great.” Draco said, an honest smile on his lips. “And what about you, Ginny?”

“I’ll have to ask first, too but I can’t promise anything. You’re a Malfoy after all.”

“Of course. I understand.” He really did. Their families had hated each other for ages and it was hard to forget. “I’m sure we could come over to your house as well if that would make your parents feel better.”

“I will ask them. Thank you for the invitation, Draco.”

They continued their breakfast in silence that was only interrupted when Hermione and Ron joined them.

“Draco, have you finished your Ancient Runes translation?” Hermione asked as she let herself fall into a seat opposite from them.

“Of course I have. Being second best in almost every class doesn’t come from slacking after all.”

“Yeah, right. Would you mind if I compared mine to yours?”

“I already sent them forth to Professor Babbling, we didn’t expect to be back here after all.”

“Of course. I forgot about that.”

 

After breakfast they approached the head table to tell the headmistress they would like to come back to school.

“Very well. It will be best if you return after the weekend. I’ll tell the teachers. You are free to use the floo in my office to get back to your house or apparate from outside the gates.”

“Thank you, Headmistress.” Draco said and pulled Harry along on his hand until they had reached the edge of the wards surrounding Hogwarts. They left the school grounds and then disapparated.

 

The first things Draco did after they had materialized in their living room were cancelling the glamour on his hair and letting the scales appear fully again.

“Freedom…” he sighed. “It feels so good to have nothing to hide…”

“I can imagine…” Harry said and hugged Draco tightly. At that moment he realized it was high time to tell Draco a few of his secrets. Draco had let all of his walls fall down when he was alone with him and he felt like a jerk, keeping all his issues and his past to himself.

“Would you light the fire and make us some tea? We should enjoy these last few days alone and I would like to change into a dress.”

“Sure.” Harry pulled Draco into a kiss and then let him go upstairs to change.

 

When Draco came back down, he wore an emerald green dress that was decorated with black lace and net lace around the neckline and the skirt. It flowed smoothly around his upper body and was wide and ruffled around his legs, ending just above his knees. It was only the second dress he had bought and one of his absolute favourites.

Harry stood at the foot of the stairs, eyes wide in amazement.

“You look absolutely stunning, Draco.” He said, holding out a hand for Draco to take. Draco accepted it, blushing furiously.

“Thank you.”

“Come, let’s go sit in the living room.”

 

Harry curled up on one side of the sofa in front of the fire and Draco sat down next to him, comfortably leaning against Harry.

“Some small part o me wishes we would stay here… I got used to it being only the two of us…” Harry mused.

“I know… But we can come here every other weekend. Promise. We’re life mates and we’ll need some time on our own with _no one_ around every once in a while.”

 

A few hours later the first owl swooped in with the notes and essays from their morning classes tied around her leg.

“I just remembered” Draco said as he untied the ribbons holding the scrolls. “You’ll have to go to Arithmancy and Ancient Runes with me again. And I’ll accompany you to Care of Magical Creatures.”

“I don’t mind. It’s interesting enough even though I barely understand a thing.”

 

“Remember when you said I was too good for you and you had nothing to give in return?” Draco asked as they had finished the work for their morning classes and enjoyed a late lunch.

“Yeah, sure.”

“You’ve one so much for me already, especially in the last few days. You’re so accepting about everything and that’s really the greatest thing you could do for me so please don’t think that you don’t deserve me, Harry. You don’t have to pay me back with telling me your secrets. For me it is enough to know that you love me like I am.”

“Thank you. But I want to tell you some of my secrets because I feel safe with you and because I know you won’t pity me when I tell you.”

“Okay. You can tell me whenever you’re ready.” Draco told him, smiling reassuringly.

“I have trust issues because my relatives called me a freak and told me I was the reason my parents dies and that I didn’t deserve to be loved…” Harry mumbled but Draco understood him.

“I’ll make sure you will never feel unloved or like you don’t deserve to be loved. Because you do and I love you so much.” Draco promised.

Harry was stunned into silence. He knew that Draco wouldn’t pity him but some small part of him had still expected the looks he was so used to getting from his friends whenever he told them about the time with his relatives so he was all the more relieved that it wasn’t the case. He smiled at the promise that Draco would make sure he would never have to feel like that again.

“I love you so much, Draco.” He choked out, tears building in his eyes.

“Would you come over here for a minute?” Draco asked him.

Harry shrugged and walked over to where Draco sat on the other side of the table. Draco got up as well and hugged him to his chest.

“You can cry all you need to…” he said gently and petted Harry’s hair. Slowly Harry let the tears flow, wetting Draco’s dress.

When he was done crying he looked up at Draco. Draco smiled at the sight of Harry’s red rimmed eyes and kissed his forehead gently.

“I love you. Please never forget that.”

“I love you, too.” Harry smiled back.

 

Instead of letting Harry go back to his chair, Draco pulled him onto his lap and wrapped his arms around his waist.

“Stay here for a while.” Draco whispered. Then he concentrated on his feelings and slowly let his love for Harry flow into his hands and from there into Harry. He felt Harry relay into his embrace almost instantly.

“Whatever you’re doing, it feels good…” Harry murmured completely content.

“Dragon instincts.” Draco said, kissing the side of Harry’s neck. “I let you feel my love for you.”

“Feels amazing…” Harry purred and turned his head to kiss Draco.

“Do you want me to show you how I do it?” Draco asked, his fingers lazily trailing patterns on Harry’s abdomen.

“You think I can do it?”

“Well, you can at least try.”

“Alright.”

After some shuffling and stretching, Harry had turned around in Draco’s lap and Draco took one of Harry’s hands in his.

“So, first I concentrate on my feelings for you.” Draco placed their joined hands on his own heart.

“Then I’ll direct those feelings into my hands and from there I let them flow into you.” He led Harry’s hand from his heart to the fingers of his other hand and then to Harry’s heart.

“Do you want to try now?” he then asked.

“Yeah.”

Harry closed his eyes and a few seconds later Draco could feel a comforting feeling spread from the places where Harry’s hands touched him.

“It works.” Draco said smiling. “And you’re right, it really feels amazing. A little like when you touch my scales.”

“We should explore more of these abilities of yours.” Harry suggested. “After all we won’t really have time once we’re back at Hogwarts.”

“Yeah, I’ll get the diary and you can already get comfortable in front of the fire.” Draco agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm crap at decribing clothes so please forgive me.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this took ages and I'm really sorry but I've been at my aunt's for the weekend and between coming back from holiday and going there I didn't really have either time or motivation to put this up. 
> 
> Thank you so much for all the Kudos and Comments, you're the best!

The next days they spent as much time reading the diary as possible, trying to find out more about the abilities and skills they had. It was already Saturday evening and Harry was currently finishing his Care of Magical Creatures essay when Draco stumbled upon an interesting paragraph.

“Hey, Harry come here, I found something.” He called out

“What is it?” Harry got up and joined Draco on the couch in front of the hearth.

“Here, read this.”

_A few minutes later, Lavon transformed into a beautiful copper Dragon with green eyes and took off to join me in the air. It felt great to fly with him, better than even when I flew with him on my back._

“Lavon, he’s their mate, right?” Harry asked once he had finished reading.

“Yeah.”

“And he could change into a Dragon as well?”

“Yeah.”

“So that means I could do it, too?”

“Possibly.” Draco allowed. After all, just because one Drakhono could change into a Dragon didn’t mean that all could. “We can try it out once you’re done with that essay.”

“That’s amazing!” Harry exclaimed. “We could go flying together!” He threw his arms around Draco and kissed him enthusiastically, all the while smiling brightly.

Draco didn’t seem to be as excited though, Harry noted. He seemed almost sad.

“Is something wrong?” he asked carefully.

“No… It’s stupid… It doesn’t matter…”

“I’m sure it’s not stupid. Please tell me what bothers you. I’m sure we can find a solution.” Harry took Draco’s hand in his and gently petted the scales on the back of it. Draco scowled lightly at him for his manipulation tactics but still decided to tell him what was bothering him. The worst that could happen was for Harry to dismiss it as unimportant, right?

“It’s just… when we went flying together it felt great to have you on my back, just knowing that you were there trusting me like that. I know it says that it feels even better to fly together but… I’m sure it will be different.”

Harry smiled. “You won’t have to give upon that.” He promised. “I enjoyed it greatly as well. Let’s see what it’s like when we’re both Dragons or maybe you can ride on my back some time and depending on what you like better we’ll go from there.”

“Okay.” Draco sighed relieved. “Thank you, Harry.”

 

When they went outside after Harry had finished his essay, the sun was already going down. Draco changed into his Dragon form as soon as they reached the backyard, it came as easy to him as breathing at this point.

 

“ _Remember, it’s similar to the Animagus transformation. Maybe change into the tiger and then try it, I don’t know, it could be easier._ ” Draco suggested as Harry didn’t have any success after twenty minutes.

Harry glared at Draco, slowly getting annoyed. He had gotten it right at his first try and it made Harry lose hope that he would master it eventually.

Seeing Harry’s frustrated expression, Draco hurried to change back and went to comfort him. He sat down behind Harry; his legs stretched out on either side of him and wrapped his arms around Harry’s torso.

“I can’t do it, Draco.” Harry said, close to tears.

“I’m sure you can,” Draco soothed. “You already mastered your Animagus and that was an invented spell. The Dragon transformation is natural. Maybe you’re just trying too hard.”

Harry chuckled weakly. “How did you do it? The first time, I mean?”

“First, I cleared my mind – wait. Maybe I can show you how I did it. How skilled are you at Legilimency?”

Harry sighed. “Abysmal. When Snape taught me Occlumency I did it once – not on purpose though.”

Draco noticed how uncomfortable Harry was with talking about his Occlumency lessons so he decided not to ask further and started massaging Harry’s shoulders to make him relax again.

 

“Well… then we’ll have to try something different. Do you have an idea?”

“Uh… The thing you did the other day with showing me your feelings, do you think it could work with this as well?”

“I can try. It will be a bit tricky though as I barely think about it when I transform and it only takes a second or so, meaning the feelings will be compressed in such a small timespan you’ll barely have time to comprehend them.”

“We’ll try it.” Harry decided. If it failed they could always try Legilimency but he didn’t want Draco to invade his mind unless he absolutely had to. He knew Draco would be as gentle as possible, unlike Snape, but he couldn’t shake the bad experience he’d had with it so far.

“Okay. Do you want me to stay here or should I sit somewhere else, maybe where you can see me?”

“Stay there, it feels good.”

“Very well.” Draco shuffled a bit to get more comfortable and then laced the fingers of one hand with Harry’s and put his other hand over Harry’s heart.

“Now clear your mind.” He whispered near Harry’s ear.

Harry closed his eyes and slowly let all the thoughts occupying his head slip away until his mind was empty. This part was the same in the Animagus transformation; he could manage that with ease nowadays.

Suddenly he felt Draco speak again but this time in his head.

“ _Stay calm. I just found out about this myself. It’s similar to telepathy but it only works when you have an empty mind and I touch you._ ” Draco said his voice soothing and calm.

Harry felt himself relax further as he let Draco’s voice wash over him in his mind. Somehow this felt right, almost normal.

“ _Squeeze my hand when you’re ready and I’ll transform._ ” Draco said and kissed Harry’s cheek.

Harry took a deep breath and then squeezed Draco’s hand that still held his. Not a second later he could feel Draco’s feelings pouring into him. There was happiness and freedom but above all was a feeling of rightness as if Draco truly was a Dragon and just wore the human body as a disguise.

Harry slowly opened his eyes again and saw that in the places where Draco’s hands had been now were scaly claws. He giggled when Draco licked his neck with his forked tongue.

“ _You didn’t even flinch when I changed._ ” Draco observed while continuing to trace swirls on Harry’s neck.

“ _I trust you._ ” Harry simply said. It was true. He trusted Draco more than he had anyone, even Ron and Hermione before. “ _And you were right. I was really trying too hard. But I think I know how I have to do it now._ ”

“ _Okay. Should I change back?_ ”

“ _No. I think it works better like this._ ”

 

Draco nuzzled Harry’s neck with his snout and then took a step back to give Harry space to transform.

About a minute later he stood face to face with a sleek black Dragon, his spiked tail swinging lazily. Harry’s impossibly green eyes stood out even more now that his whole body was black.

“ _You’re so beautiful._ ” Draco all but purred. Then he took a step closer and brought their snouts together in an affectionate gesture almost like a kiss.

Harry revealed two rows of sharp blindingly white teeth in a happy grin.

“ _I did it! Draco, I did it!_ ” Harry exclaimed, his tail thumping on the floor like that of a dog. It ruined the grass but Draco couldn’t care less about that. Harry had changed into his Dragon form and he couldn’t have been happier for him.

Draco showed a happy grin of his own and then took off into the sky. At first it felt strange to be in the sky without Harry on his back, just like the time when he had first achieved his Animagus transformation but as soon as Harry joined him in the air the strangeness went away and was replaced by warmth that enveloped him like a hug. The diary had been right again, this was way better than having Harry ride on his back.

“ _I feel so free…_ ” Harry mused, flying around in small loops. “ _I never thought there could be anything better than flying on a broom but this… this is way better. It feels so natural and easy._ ”

“ _That’s because we are meant to fly, meant to be Dragons. After we’d done our duty to humanity first I came into my powers because I was born earlier and now I can guide you with the help of the Dragon Child’s diary and the Old Knowledge that is helping with our instincts. We’ll be equal once we learned about it all but that will probably take years._ ”

Harry looked at Draco, surprised. Where had all this sudden knowledge come from? Was it the Old Knowledge that he had mentioned or just something he had read in the diary and hadn’t bothered to tell Harry about?

“ _How do you know all that?_ ” he asked, not sure whether he really wanted to know.

“ _I… I don’t know… it was just there suddenly. Like I knew it all along but remembered it only now. I would never keep something from you on purpose._ ”

“ _It’s okay. I believe you._ ” Harry assured him and then rose farther up into the air until he could look over the tree tops. Draco followed him, enjoying the freedom that came with being in their true form.

 

They only went back inside as the sun had long disappeared from the horizon and even then, they took their time. It just felt too good to be in their true form and Draco guessed they would have lay down on the grass to sleep right then and there had it been warmer. He knew that Dragons were practically immune to the cold but the warm bed in their house was just too inviting.

 

They curled up on their bed, facing each other, their noses touching.

“I love you.” Harry whispered.

“I love you, too.” Draco replied and raised his head a little to kiss Harry’s nose.

“Do you think I will grow Dragon scales as well?” Harry asked, his voice still low.

“I would think so. After all, we’re supposed to be equal. We’ll see in the morning I guess.”

“Yeah. Can we go flying again tomorrow?”

“I hope so. But we’ll be back at Hogwarts before lunch so we’ll have to go into the Forbidden Forest again to fly. But for now I think we should sleep.”

“Mhmmm…” Harry agreed sleepily and shifted downwards until he could nuzzle Draco’s chest.

Draco smiled down at him. “Good night, love.” He whispered, petting Harry’s hair lovingly.

“Good night, Angel.” Harry whispered back and finally succumbed to sleep.

Draco continued to pet Harry’s hair until he felt something strange on his scalp. In the light of his wand he could see three onyx coloured scales behind Harry’s ear. Smiling, he fell asleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ideas for what they should do for the rest of the school year are very welcome as I have no idea what I want to happen between now and the parts I have already planned out happening after school.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this took way too long to finish. And it isn't even that long. I hope you like it.
> 
> I don't know how often I can update from now on because I'm taking a few uni courses to be prepared for "real uni" in October but I'll try to do as much writing as possible. It's a good way to calm down after five hours of math :)

Harry woke up to the most amazing feeling. Sleeping next to Draco was always great but this feeling topped even that.

Slowly he opened his eyes, adjusting to the brightness in the room, and saw Draco smiling at him, caressing a spot right behind his ear.

“Don’t stop…” Harry mumbled. “That feels amazing…”

“I didn’t plan to. But it’s good to know that you like to get your scales petted as well.”

“What?” Harry shot up surprised and stroked over the place where Draco had been petting him. He was right. There were scales. His surprised expression morphed into a smile.

“I have scales.” He exhaled amazed.

Draco summoned a small mirror and handed it to Harry.

“You have beautiful scales.” He corrected.

“Yes,” Harry agreed, caressing them while he admired them in the mirror. “They’re beautiful.”

While Draco prepared breakfast, Harry went into the bathroom to have a shower. He stripped and froze when he saw himself in the body-length mirror. He was covered in scales just like Draco. There were black scales covering his right shoulder, some around his belly button and even a few on his thighs. He didn’t have nearly as much as Draco did though but instead of wondering why that could be, he just stepped into the shower.

 

 

Just before lunch started at Hogwarts they flooed back into the Headmistress’ office. McGonagall already waited for them to discuss their plans for the rest of the term. Students had noticed their disappearance and rumours had been spreading all week.

“We’ll tell them the truth.” Draco decided.

“The truth? That you’re a Dragon Child and I’m your Drakhono?”

“Exactly. And that as mates we needed some time on our own. I don’t think we should tell them about Dogan. It would just induce panic, knowing that people like him can get into the school.”

“I agree with you, Mr Malfoy. Would you like to announce it during lunch?” McGonagall asked.

“It would be better to do it tomorrow during breakfast I guess. That way more of the students are present and we have half a day to properly settle in again before the news get out.”

“Are you alright with that as well, Mr Potter?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Then it’s alright. You should go to the Great Hall now, lunch has just started. I will tell the house elves to bring your trunks back into your room.”

“Thank you, headmistress.” Harry and Draco said in unison and then left the office to join their fellow students for lunch.

 

“Draco! Harry! You’re back!” Luna shouted from her place next to Ginny at the Gryffindor table. She jumped up and embraced them both as she reached them.

“Dogan is in the Hospital Wing again.” She whispered.

A wide evil grin spread on Draco’s face. “So it works. We should pay him a visit after lunch, don’t you think, Harry?”

“Why, Draco, one could think you enjoyed torturing him.”

“I did.” Draco’s grin didn’t falter in the least. “That’s no secret. I may not have enjoyed the things Voldemort called torture but enacting revenge on someone because they attacked you is something I would do again in a heartbeat.”

Harry smiled. “Then we should definitely pay him a visit; see if he regrets getting on your bad side yet.”

“I like the way you’re thinking. Do you want to come as well, Luna?” Draco’s smile turned gentle when he asked the question.

“Maybe later. For now you should go alone.” The smile on Luna’s face told Harry that she had a good reason to go alone but he decided not to dwell on it. Luna wouldn’t do anything that would land her in Azkaban and she was sneaky enough not to get caught with whatever she had in mind.

Harry’s other friends already sat at the Gryffindor table talking and eating but looked up when Draco, Luna and he joined them.

“So you’re back at school now?” Hermione asked.

“Yes. The buzz in the back of your head isn’t so bad anymore when you’ve become used to it.” Draco said and then tucked in. He had really missed the food at Hogwarts, no matter how good their cooking had tasted and how much fun it had been to cook with Harry.

Seeing that she wouldn’t get any more information from Draco, Hermione focused her gaze on Harry. “The buzz?” she asked.

“Yeah. It’s difficult to explain… It’s like a constant background noise in your brain whenever too many people are close.”

Satisfied with his answer, Hermione nodded and continued to eat.

 

Once Draco had finished eating, he pushed his plate away and took a look at Harry.

“Are you sure you want to come? I could go alone.” Draco offered.

“It’s alright, I need to do this. I just want to see him, if you want to stay for a chat you can but I’ll go as soon as I see that your curse is working.” Harry assured him.

“Who are you talking about?” Hermione asked.

“Dogan.” Harry and Draco replied simultaneously. They looked at each other and laughed.

“Luna told us he’s in the hospital wing because his wounds opened up again. Why they take care of him, I have no idea.” Draco explained further.

“Well, he’s still part of the staff.” Ginny said, definitely not satisfied with that fact.

“What?” Draco shouted, not caring who heard him. “He tried to kill a student and he’s still allowed to work here? That is madness!”

Thee others in their group could only agree. After what they had heard about Dogan from Draco they couldn’t even think of a reason why he should be _teaching_ Defence Against the Dark Arts at all, as he had been on Voldemort’s side during the war. But apparently it had been enough proof that he didn’t have the Mark to make him a teacher.

“Well, the rumour about the cursed Defence teacher position is still around so it was hard to find a new one.” Hermione told them. “And McGonagall said he worked for the Order for some time, so she trusts him.”

“But she _saw_ him casting the curse!” Harry protested loudly.

“Not exactly. She saw the spell but I’m sure she didn’t see who cast it. Otherwise she wouldn’t have him work here any longer, I’m sure.” Draco argued. After all it had been only Harry who had really seen him cast the spell. The others just didn’t say a word against it.

“This is just unfair!” Harry complained further. “The war is over, all I wanted to have was a quiet last year of school. But of course once again someone wants me dead.”

“I know.” Draco soothed. He located the scales behind Harry’s ear and slowly stroked them until Harry’s breathing had calmed down again. “We will leave Britain as soon as we’re done with school if you want to. And we don’t have to tell anyone where we’re going.”

Before any of their friends could protest about Draco’s planning, Harry said “But we’ll tell our friends, right?”

Draco chuckled. “Of course we’ll tell them. Just not anyone else.”

“Well then we should definitely do that.” Harry decided and smiled. “And now let’s go to the infirmary, I want to get this over with and spend the rest of my Sunday in peace.”

Draco laughed at Harry’s impatience but took his hand and followed him out of the Great Hall and into the infirmary. Before opening the doors, they looked at each other and, considering that the whole school would know it by breakfast tomorrow anyway, decided to keep their hands entwined for additional support.

 

The second Dogan spotted them from his hospital bed he shrunk against the headboard like a scared animal.

Draco couldn’t help smiling and even the corners of Harry’s mouth quirked up a little.

“Are you enjoying your stay, Dogan?” Draco asked, his voice sickly sweet.

Dogan just grumbled something incomprehensible.

“I asked,” Draco snapped louder. “whether you enjoy your stay, Dogan!”

“Ye- yes. I do. The mediwitch takes good care of me.”

“That is good then. I could ask her to give you more Blood Replenishing Potion, you do look awfully pale.”

“No, no, it’s alright, really.” Dogan shrank back even further. He seemed to really fear Draco now that he knew what he was capable of. “I’m fine.”

“Very well. Goodbye, Dogan. I hope I never have to see you again.” Draco turned around to walk out of the infirmary again when Dogan called out. “Malfoy!”

“What?” Draco asked, examining his fingernails.

“When will you lift the curse?”

“Those are lifelong wounds, Dogan. The curse will be lifted as soon as you die. Should you somehow survive that I’d be quite impressed and out of the goodness of my heart wouldn’t reapply it.”

With that he finally strode out of the infirmary, his head held high and his hand still linked with Harry’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I uploaded two Drarry one-shots since uploading the last chapter here, maybe you want to check them out as well.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I finished another chapter! I'm not completely satisfied with it so feel free to make suggestions on what I could improve.
> 
> There will be a few more chapters about what happens in the remaining school year but then we'll finally move on to the post-school stuff - yay!

“Are you okay?” Draco asked Harry once they were back in their rooms. He had noticed Harry’s tense shoulders and wondered whether it had been a good idea to take him to see Dogan.

“I… I don’t know…” Harry admitted and slumped onto the sofa.

“What bothers you? You can tell me no matter how trivial or stupid you think it is.”

“It’s really stupid… but I can’t seem to stop worrying about it…”

“Tell me…” Draco offered again, sitting down next to Harry. Then he tugged on Harry’s hair until he laid his head in Draco’s lap.

“Well… what if Dogan really survives dying… like I did… what if he comes after us then? And considering that he can cast the Killing Curse wordless he could’ve very well killed us back in the infirmary because we thought we were safe with him injured in a hospital bed.”

“First of all, you having survived dying was surely a one in a billion thing and I bet he doesn’t have a fraction of the luck you have when it comes to surviving. Second of all, I never let my guard down for a second back when we were in the hospital wing because I actually anticipated that he would try something. Not with his wand though…” Draco pulled a crooked wand out of his robe pocket and showed a wide smile. “Because I took it from him back in the Headmistress’ office.”

Harry stared at him, the surprise evident in his face. “How…?”

“It wasn’t that hard, considering I was within touching distance of him the whole time I tortured him and I also cut all his clothes off. A discreet wordless summoning charm isn’t that complicated, you know?”

Harry chuckled. “Of course. You’re brilliant.”

Draco smiled and gently petted Harry’s hair. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

Harry punched Draco lightly in the stomach. “You conceited prick!” he complained.

 

A few minutes later they heard a knock on the portrait. Harry got up from Draco’s lap and went to open it, expecting it to be the Headmistress or one of the Professors as they should be the only ones knowing about their whereabouts. But when he opened the door he looked into the smiling face of someone he really hadn’t expected.

“Luna?” he asked confused.

“Good afternoon, Harry, Draco.” Luna replied and skipped into the room. She sat down on the couch next to Draco and put her head on his shoulder before she told them why she was there in the first place.

“I thought I’d tell you the good news myself!” she announced.

“What good news?” Harry asked once he had sat down on Draco’s lap.

“Dogan won’t be a problem anymore.”

“How is that?” Draco wondered.

“Let’s just say I gave him something that will remind him not to mess with my friends if he’s fond of his life.”

Harry knew it was nothing good from the smile on Luna’s face but he trusted her judgement. If she thought it was necessary to punish Dogan further he wouldn’t keep her from it.

“Thank you, Luna. You’re really a great friend.” He said, smiling.

“Yes, thank you, Luna. Now we won’t have to worry about him anymore.”

Luna just smiled and hugged them both.

“Do you want to stay until dinner? We could ask Winky to bring us tea and then talk for a bit.” Draco offered.

“That would be lovely. Thank you, Draco.”

Draco smiled at her. Luna really was a great friend. “It’s alright. That’s what friends do. Even though I have to say I am curious how you found our rooms. No one but the professors and the headmistress should know about the location.”

“I asked Hogwarts of course, stupid.” Luna explained and laughed at him.

“You asked Hogwarts, of course.” Draco sighed. “How could I not think of that? Winky!”

The house elf appeared in front of them, bowing so low her nose almost touched the ground.

“What can Winky do for Masters and Miss?” she squeaked.

“Please bring us some tea and cookies.” Draco ordered.

“Winky will do. Is there anything else Winky can do for Masters?”

“No, that would be it. Thank you, Winky.”

With a small pop the house elf disappeared again and reappeared a few minutes later carrying a tray with tea and cookies.

They got comfortable on the floor around the couch table as the couch was definitely too small to hold three people sitting next to each other and Draco was strictly against enlarging it. It would ruin the fabric apparently.

Draco took the tea pot off the tray and poured three cups of still steaming tea.

“How do you take your tea?” he asked Luna.

“A little milk, no sugar.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Harry pulling a face. He couldn’t understand how people could drink their tea without sugar.

“Yes, I know, Harry.” He teased. “You want a quarter milk and three teaspoons sugar.”

“What? No!” Harry exclaimed in horror.

Draco chuckled and put Harry’s preferred amount of milk and sugar in his cup before handing it to him.

“You’re such a great host, Draco.” Harry commented.

 

After dinner Harry and Draco spent some time alone as Draco wanted to do some research in the library and Harry used the opportunity to spend some time with his other friends. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Draco there but especially Ron still acted differently whenever Draco was there with them.

They met in the Gryffindor common room and the first thing that Harry noticed was that he had really missed being there. Being around people had been uncomfortable in the beginning of the year but he had still liked having all of his friends close to him.

“Harry!” Dean exclaimed. Harry saw him lying with his head in Seamus’ lap, like Harry liked to do with Draco. Then he jumped up and was hanging around Harry’s neck in a flash, hugging him for all it was worth.

Harry chuckled at his antics and hugged him back.

“It’s good to see you, mate.”

“Likewise, Dean. I missed being here with you guys.”

“Then why did you leave?”

It took some seconds for Harry to remember that not everyone knew about his inheritance yet.

“Draco and I will make an announcement tomorrow at breakfast anyway so I think I can tell you now. At first we wanted to keep it a secret but then something happened that made it impossible for us to do so.”

“Then spill it already!” Seamus who had joined them and wrapped his arms around Dean’s stomach demanded.

“Draco is a Dragon Child and I’m his Drakhono.” Harry said and smiled. Somehow it felt good that more people knew about it now. He didn’t have a problem with keeping secrets but it felt good not having to watch what he said in the presence of other studentsany longer – at least not when it came to his inheritance.

Several gasps could be heard throughout the common room, followed by complete silence as if they were expecting Harry to tell them it had been a bad joke.

“You’re serious, mate?” Seamus asked.

“No, I’m Harry actually. But yes, what I said is true.” Harry said with a cheeky grin on his face.

“That’s… unexpected. You and Malfoy, really? I thought you hated him?”

Harry continued to tell them everything that had happened between the first night Draco had joined him in the library and earlier that day when they had talked to Luna. He did leave out any of their special powers though, not only because Draco was convinced those were no one else’s business but also because he thought they might change his opinion on him once they found out just how powerful he was and what he could do.

 

Harry only left the Gryffindors when it drew close to curfew. He still wanted to spend some time with Draco before they went to bed, not because the coldness was coming back but because it felt strange not to be around him for more than a few minutes and he had spent several hours in the Gryffindor common room.

Apparently Draco felt similarly, as he clung to Harry’s neck the second he stepped through the portrait guarding their rooms.

“It’s bloody weird not to have you around…” Draco admitted once he had let go of Harry’s neck again. He had never been dependent on anyone except his parents when he had been a kid. To his surprise it didn’t annoy him and he didn’t feel caged like he had so often before he had come to Hogwarts. Quite the opposite was true. He felt reassured because Harry would never let him fall and he was just as dependent on Draco as Draco was on him.

“I love you…” he added in a whisper and wrapped his arms around Harry again, this time encircling his waist.

Harry smiled. “I love you, too, Draco. I told my friends about the whole Dragon Child business, I hope that’s okay with you? We’ll tell the whole school tomorrow anyway and I thought…”

“Harry.” Draco interrupted him. Harry lifted his gaze that had drifted to the ground while he was talking. “It’s alright. Your friends deserve to know what happened to you in the last month. You haven’t really spent time with them at all, have you?”

“Not really. I think I needed some time away from Gryffindor. They’re all so loud but it was great to be back for some time.”

“I’m glad. You need more friends than just me. Even though I’m pretty awesome on my own.”

“You’re right. Sometimes I need a break from all this awesomeness, and then it’s good I have some other friends.”

They both laughed at how ridiculous their conversation had become in less than a second.

“How come you don’t snap at me anymore when I’m teasing you like this?” Draco asked once their laughs had ceased.

Harry was visibly stunned. He hadn’t ever thought about it since he and Draco had become friends but it was really rather strange that even Draco’s taunts didn’t make him snap anymore.

“I don’t know.” Harry said. “Would you like it better if I said: ‘the only thing you’re awesome at is being a prat, Malfoy’?”

Draco chuckled. “Yes, that’s much better. It is so satisfying to rile you up.”

“Alright. I’ll try to react like that more often then.” Harry said smiling before he kissed Draco. “But I don’t need to stop doing that, right?”

“Never.”


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! Draco can finally be a prat again! I hope you like it.

The next morning Harry woke up early – way too early in his opinion. Breakfast wouldn’t start for another two hours but he was too fidgety to fall back asleep, the nerves about how the school would react to them being Dragon Child and Drakhono driving him crazy.

Draco on the other hand still slept soundly so Harry took care not to wake him as he untangled himself from the sheets and crawled out of the bed. He went to sit in front of the hearth fire in the living room still in his pyjamas but he couldn’t sit still for long. After a few minutes of nervous shifting he decided to get dressed and go flying until breakfast started. He didn’t want to try and transform into a Dragon without Draco around so he took his broom to make a few laps around the Quidditch pitch.

“Where’re you going?” Harry heard Draco’s sleepy voice when he was almost out of the room again. He turned around and saw Draco still lying in bed, facing Harry with half-opened eyes.

“Flying.”

“You don’t need a broom for that.” Draco yawned. “You are a Dragon.”

“But I’d rather have my Dragon mate around, then.”

“Come back to bed for a few minutes, then we’ll go flying once I’m fully awake.” Draco decided and stretched lazily as if he was the tiger Animagus instead of Harry. Harry told him as much.

“Well, I never tried to achieve my Animagus form. Maybe I would be a feline, who knows.” Draco said, pulling Harry back into the bed.

“You’re at least as cuddly as one.” Harry agreed and snuggled close to Draco again, not feeling half as nervous now that Draco was awake.

“That’s only because I feel comfortable around you. Everyone else is invited to get a free trial of my claws.”

“Like Dogan.”

“Yeah. When they’re extremely unpleasant they deserve to get acquainted with my literal claws. Not just the metaphorical ones. You know, these.”

Draco transformed one of his hands into a claw and gently dragged them over Harry’s exposed skin, taking care not to hurt him.

The sensation sent pleasant shudders down Harry’s spine.

“I’m glad you’re not only using them to hurt people.” Harry sighed contentedly. “That feels amazing.”

 

The sun wasn’t even up when Draco and Harry went outside about an hour before breakfast, clad in thick cloaks, on their way into the Forbidden Forest.

Draco was the first to transform when they reached the clearing, stretching his wings lazily in the cool and fresh air. Harry followed suit a few seconds later, sighing happily.

“ _It hasn’t even been two days but I really missed this._ ” He growled.

“ _Me, too._ ” Draco agreed. “ _It has never been this bad before. Maybe that’s because you can transform as well now. Then I had a reason to stay in my human form, now I don’t._ ” With that he took off into the air and flew in circles until Harry joined him and they played a little game of chase, which was much more exciting in the air and with teeth, fire breath and talons to look out for than it was on the ground as humans. Not that they would ever want to hurt each other but it could happen.

Soon they were exhausted from their chase, not used to staying in the air for so long and circled down slowly until their feet touched the grass again.

“New rule.” Draco decided once they had transformed back. “We’ll go flying at least once a day from now on, no matter how much work we have to do.”

Harry could only agree happily with a bright smile on his face.

Draco kissed him and then they went back to the castle as breakfast was about to start.

 

The second they entered the Great Hall, Harry could feel the worry coming back to him again and he felt like every gaze he caught was silently judging him for whatever. He reached for Draco’s hand. He felt a little better when Draco’s fingers closed around his and gently squeezed in silent comfort. It was truly remarkable how Draco managed to make him feel better with such small gestures.

They went to sit at the Gryffindor table where they were soon joined by their friends, who, knowing what they would have to face soon, sat down in a semicircle around them, to shield them as much as possible from any negative backlash to their announcement that might occur.

 

“Now eat something already!” Hermione finally snapped when after half an hour their plates were still empty. “No one will kill you! Dragon Children are highly respected in the Wizarding World from what I’ve read.”

“It’s not that.” Harry tried to explain. “We know that. It’s just that it’s us. Draco and me. We used to be rivals. The world will probably explode or something once we announce we are mates.”

“Or at least the Great Hall.” Draco added.

“Still!” Hermione protested. “You have to eat something!”

“Yes, mom.” Harry sighed. “We’ll eat once we’re done with it.”

Hermione huffed, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to convince them.

 

“Silence, please!” McGonagall exclaimed just seconds later. The Great Hall went silent in an instant.

“Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy would like to make an announcement concerning their absence in the last week.”

Draco and Harry both got up. They had decided Draco would make the announcement, so he cleared his throat and cast a _Sonorus_.

“Thank you, Professor McGonagall.” He began. “We would just like to announce that I am a Dragon Child and Harry is my Drakhono. We were away from school the last week because we needed some time alone to make our bond more stable. It was a unique situation and from now on we’ll only be gone from school on weekends, if at all.”

As soon as Draco had reversed the charm, the Great Hall quite literally exploded, just like they had foreseen. Everyone was stating their opinion as loudly as possible and it took the Headmistress a full minute to calm them down again.

But Draco had heard enough. There had been accusations, mostly from the Gryffindors who weren’t close to Harry, about him poisoning Harry in some way, some confusion, mainly from Muggleborns who had never heard of Dragon Children but also a lot of excited chatter about having such a rare creature at the school. It definitely could’ve been worse, he decided, and sat down next to Harry again with a satisfied smile.

“I expect you all to treat Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy with respect. Should I hear them complaining, be it about admirers or haters, I won’t hesitate to hand out detentions. Thank you for your attention.” With that, the Headmistress sat down again and the usual chatter resumed.

Upon seeing Hermione’s disapproving gaze Harry and Draco hastily filled their plates with food and tucked in.

 

They didn’t have to wait long for people asking about their bond and whispering about them in the corridors. Harry really doubted telling the school had been a good idea. The gossip about him befriending Draco had just stopped and now the rumour mill had started anew. And even though only their friends knew about their relationship the most popular rumours were centred on their sex life. If Harry had to hear the phrase _Potter is definitely a bottom_ one more time, he might very well snap and rip someone’s head off.

It was a good thing Draco beat him to it. Not to the ripping someone’s head off, but at least to snapping at someone because they made inappropriate comments. Harry only saw his hands transform and the next second the unsuspecting fourth year was already dangling off the wall, held up only by Draco’s claws.

“If you’re so enthusiastic about gay sex,” he snarled. “Maybe you should get your own boyfriend, Watts.”

The boy swallowed with some difficulties and looked down at the claw surrounding his throat in fear.

“Pl- please don’t hurt me…” he pleaded.

“I won’t but you better think _long_ and _hard_ about it, the next time you want to gossip about someone else’s sex life. And do tell everyone who dares to make negative comments about us about these.” He stretched his claws, looking at them with obvious glee.

“I- I will.” The boy stuttered and walked away as fast as he dared. He probably hadn’t even noticed the innuendo – what a shame, really.

The rest of the day passed in quite the same fashion and with every time Draco snapped at someone the number of people whispering about them in the halls got smaller until most of the school took a step back from them wherever they went. It was a little like second year, Harry couldn’t help but notice only that now he almost appreciated the distance everyone but Draco and their friends kept from him.

Draco enjoyed the whole situation greatly. It felt good to have some power over his fellow students again. He was still a Slytherin after all, no matter how Hufflepuff he acted when he was alone with Harry. But he was still glad when dinner was over and they went back inside their rooms where he could let his Malfoy Mask fall down.

“You look relieved.” Harry remarked.

“That’s because I am. Finally no one is around who’d enquire after our non-existent sex life.”

“I thought you were okay with that?” Harry asked confused.

Draco realized his mistake and hurried to remedy it. “With it being non-existent I have no problem, like I told you on numerous occasions. But when people ask or gossip about it, I’d love to rip their throats. Like I told Watts, they should get their own boyfriends if they’re so interested in dick.”

Harry smiled and then walked up to Draco to hug him. “I love you.” He whispered.

“I love you, too.” Draco whispered back and picked Harry up to carry him over to the couch for some cuddling.

“Hey!” Harry protested but he couldn’t help but think that it was incredibly cute.

Draco put Harry down again when he stood in front of the sofa only to pull him on top of him once he was comfortably seated.

“You just could have told me you wanted to cuddle.”

“I know.” Draco said smiling. “But this was infinitely more fun.”

Harry smiled, too, and bowed down to kiss Draco. Maybe telling the school hadn’t been that terrible an idea when it made Draco this affectionate.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this story already has more than 600 Kudos :o. You're amazing guys, thank you so much for your support, especially the lovely comments <3

“Would you go on a date with me?” Draco asked out of the blue during breakfast the following Wednesday.

“I… what?” Harry was caught completely unaware and thus confused.

“I wanted to go on a date in Hogsmeade with you. Like… our first date. It’s okay if you don’t want to…” Draco repeated sounding a little insecure now.

“No, I’d love to. You just caught me off guard.”

A wide smile spread on Draco’s face and Harry couldn’t help smiling as well.

“Is this weekend alright with you? It’s not a Hogsmeade weekend so the village would be mostly empty.”

“That sounds great.” Harry assured Draco who still looked a little flustered. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Thanks, Harry.” Draco sighed relieved and then continued to eat his breakfast.

 

On their way into the village on Saturday it started to snow for the first time. Harry pulled his cloak tighter and smiled at Draco.

“If I didn’t know that you can’t change the weather with magic, I’d say this is your doing.” He teased.

“You can’t?” Draco looked scandalized but Harry could spot the amusement in his eyes telling him that Draco was only joking.

“You can’t. I asked Hermione once and she quoted the passage from memory and even told me the page of the book she found it in.”

“Forget I ever asked.” Draco hurried to say, making them both laugh.

The snow had thickened into a small storm when they reached the Three Broomsticks where Draco had made reservations for them.

Being the well-bred Pureblood heir that he was, Draco held the door of the pub open for Harry and invited him in gracefully “After you, Mr Potter.” He said with a smile on his face.

“Thank you, Draco.” Harry replied. Draco was glad he had used his first name, as he wasn’t sure himself which title he preferred. He just knew that it made him queasy whenever someone – most often Professor McGonagall - addressed him as Mr Malfoy and more than once he had itched to correct them – he just didn’t know how.

 

Once they were seated at a quite secluded table – as secluded as one could get in a pub anyway - Draco ordered Butterbeer for both of them to warm up again.

“So, what do we do now?” Harry asked. They already knew so much about each other that a first date seemed to be rather unnecessary.

“Well, maybe you could finally tell me about one of those adventures that you seemed to have every year at school.” Draco offered and took a sip from his butterbeer, lounging back in his chair preparing to listen.

“Which one would you like to hear, then?”

“Fourth Year. There was this rumour that you and Diggory were an item.” Draco said, because teasing each other was just what they did.

Harry couldn’t bring himself to chuckle. He still felt like Cedric’s death had at least partially been his fault. “We weren’t.” he said in a serious tone. “I actually hated him for a while because he got to take Cho to the Yule Ball.”

Draco realized that he really shouldn’t have mentioned that specific rumour. Especially because he knew it to be false.

“I’m sorry.” He hurried to say. “It was mean to bring that up.”

“I can’t help but think his death was my fault, you know?” Harry said. “We reached the Cup at the same time and he told me to get it because I helped him in the maze and it was rightfully mine. But I insisted we both get it together because we’d been there at the same time and we were both Hogwarts Champions. And then the Cup brought us to the graveyard and Voldemort told Wormtail to kill Cedric because he only would’ve meant trouble for them. And then Cedric told me to get his body to his father and…” Harry was full-out crying now, unable to talk any longer.

Draco – infinitely grateful that he had had the mind to cast a Privacy Ward around their table beforehand – got up from his place and crouched down next to Harry.

“It’s not your fault he died, Harry.” He tried to assure him. “You just wanted to be fair. You couldn’t have known the Cup would bring you to some graveyard and not the entrance of the maze. You did the right thing, no matter how terrible the outcome was. There was nothing you could’ve done. Of course it seems like the better idea to take the Cup alone in retrospect but you couldn’t have known that then.”

“I…” Harry wanted to protest but he realized that Draco was right. He had never thought about it that way but Draco was right, there had been no way for him to know the Cup had been tempered with. “Thank you.” He finally said and covered Draco’s hand that he had put on his thigh with his own.

Draco showed a little smile at that.

“It’s your turn now, ask me anything. Nothing is off limits.”

Harry hesitated for a few seconds. Not because he couldn’t think of something to ask but because he couldn’t decide between two questions that had been in the back of his mind for some time now.

“Did you ever really want to be a Death Eater?” he finally asked.

“I… yes. But not for long. The first time my father came home after being crucioed I knew I would never willingly get the Dark Mark. When I got the Dark Mark I had long realized that by serving the Dark Lord you sold yourself to a Madman who I really didn’t want to win the war. Was that what you meant to ask?”

“Yeah…” Harry confirmed. “That’s what I wanted to know. But you know…” Harry pushed Draco’s left sleeve upwards. “If things hadn’t happened exactly like they did, we wouldn’t be here right now. And it feels good to be here. So you shouldn’t regret anything that you did or that happened to you if this feels as good to you as it does to me.”

Draco smiled and released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He had expected the worst; that Harry would break up with him or at least be disappointed in him. But to his surprise, Harry was nothing like that. Instead it seemed like he understood. As if he could understand his wish to make his father proud by serving Voldemort. And maybe he could, to some degree. He had become an Animagus in honour of his father after all.

“It feels great to be with you.” Draco assured Harry. “But I don’t think traditional dates are a thing we should do. Just look how this one turned out. I’d rather go flying with you and cuddle in our rooms afterwards than sit here trying to act like a normal couple.”

“That sounds like a great idea, actually.” Harry said smiling. He put a few coins on the table to pay for their drinks and before Draco could protest and insist he should pay he took his hand and pulled him outside.

But instead of complaining Draco snickered once they were back on the street. “That was fast.”

“It just felt so strange to sit there with you. I’d like to keep our relationship private, I think. Not secret but private. Or rather, as private as possible. I’m still the Boy Who Lived Fucking Twice after all.” Harry explained, hoping that Draco understood.

“Yeah. I understand.” Harry sighed relieved. “As I said, once we’re done with school we can just run away without telling anyone where we’re going. Somewhere no one knows us and we can have as much privacy as we want.”

“Thank you, Draco. I love you.” Harry said turning around so Draco could see his wide smile.

Draco pulled him close and when their lips were only millimetres apart and their eyes locked he whispered “I love you, too.” Then he proceeded to plant a sweet kiss on Harry’s lips before he ran away in the direction of the Forbidden Forest and their clearing.

Harry laughed and followed him.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter. I'm not completely satisfied with how it turned out, especially the second half so please tell me what I can improve.

Time seemed to fly now that they were back at Hogwarts and the last Hogsmeade weekend before Christmas seemed to be way too soon. Harry and Draco had decided to go separately so they could get each other’s presents and then meet for lunch in the Three Broomsticks so they wouldn’t put a strain on their bond.

Harry had ordered one of Draco’s presents a few weeks ago, knowing it would take time to finish so first he went to Copeland Clothing. They specialized in battle armour that looked like everyday fashion but was highly comfortable and practical to engage in battle in. Harry had commissioned a dress for Draco with the measurements he had gotten from Madam Malkin. The shop owner had sent him an owl a few days prior, telling him he could collect it whenever he wished.

Upon entering the shop the owner waved at him from behind the counter.

“Mr Potter. It is nice to see you. I take it you wish to collect the dress?”

“Yes, please.” Harry confirmed. “And could you tell me where I can find daggers?”

The man handed Harry the dress packed in a nondescript paper bag before he answered.

“Not here in Hogsmeade as far as I know. But there is a small shop in Diagon Alley selling small weapons, both for combat and decoration purposes. Maybe you’ll find something there.”

“I will check it out. Thanks a lot, Mr Copeland.”

“It was a pleasure. Sewing the dress was quite the welcome challenge after all the standard robes I made for the Christmas shoppers.”

“I’m sure they will appreciate the work you put into it. Have a good day.”

“To you, too, Mr Potter. Come back whenever you need my services.”

“I will, Mr Copeland.” Harry smiled and then finally excited the shop again. Now he just had to find something to give Draco the day they celebrated Christmas with his Mother, he didn’t want to out him after all.

 

Draco didn’t have as quite an easy time finding a present for Harry. He wanted to buy him clothes but that was such an impersonal gift in his eyes and he soon discarded the idea again. They could always do that together after Christmas as Harry still only wore the clothes they had bought for him in October. No that he didn’t look good in them, it just weren’t enough in Draco’s eyes, even though he was sure Harry would disagree with him on that.

On his walk around Hogsmeade a jeweller caught his eye. In the shop window was a metal bracelet on display that looked and moved like a living snake. Draco smiled satisfied, certain he had found the perfect present. He entered the shop, ready to bargain with the salesperson. To his surprise, they didn’t have any desire to bargain with him, instead they just looked at him like he was the devil incarnated and sold him the bracelet for a ridiculously low price. Not about to complain, Draco shrugged and smiled at them.

Only when he was standing outside the shop again did he notice that the bracelet was hissing. This was even better than he had originally expected.

 

Harry decided to make a detour to Honeydukes before he met Draco in the Three Broomsticks for lunch. As it was Hogsmeade weekend it was packed beyond belief and he was for once grateful for his Hero status because it meant that not only people stepped back so he could shop properly but also let him skip the queue so he was back outside in record time.

Outside the shop he ran into Draco – quite literally.

“Ouch, you…” Draco began before he looked up. “Oh, hey Harry. I hope you have something else than just chocolate for me for Christmas?”

“Actually I thought chocolate was enough.” Harry said and grinned cheekily.

“You liar! I saw you disappear into Copeland Clothing. On second thought, I should have told you I don’t want one of their robes… _everyone_ has them.” Draco complained almost whiny.

“Well, then it’s good I didn’t get you one of those.”

“You didn’t? What did you get me then?”

“Just chocolate. I just said that.”

“Prat…” Draco muttered. He took Harry’s hand and pulled him back inside Honeydukes. “Now help me find presents for your friends.”

“But… you’re not gonna get them all sweets, right?”

“Of course not!” Draco looked scandalized. “I just thought we should start with the most obvious. Sweets and some violently orange merch from that Quidditch team I’d love to forget even exists for Ronald.”

“You mean the Chud-“

“You’re not gonna say that while I’m around.” Draco demanded. “It’s an insult to Quidditch itself that that team even _exists_. I told you I’d take you to a _real_ Quidditch match around Christmas to show you what a _real_ team looks like. And now come on, we have Christmas presents to find.”

Harry chuckled at Draco’s antics but followed him into the crowded shop once again, pointing out Ron’s favourite sweets for him.

After a short visit to the Quidditch fan shop throughout which Draco scowled whenever he got too close to anything orange, they finally went to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. Being there now was a lot different to when they had been there on a date. It was almost like lunch with their friends in the Great Hall – just with way less people around – it was downright pleasant now that they didn’t think of it as a date.

 

Once their stomachs were pleasantly filled, they went back outside and continued their quest to find some last minute Christmas presents.

“Do you think we could go to Muggle London some time before Christmas?” Draco asked as they were on their way back to the castle. “Pansy has been telling me for ages that she wanted to try their beauty products.”

Harry was taken aback for a second but recovered fast. Slytherins were very good at keeping secrets it seemed. Who would’ve guessed Pansy Parkinson was intrigued by Muggle Make-up.

“Yeah, sure. Just… don’t hex my relatives should we see them.”

“Harry!” Draco exclaimed scandalized. “You take away all my fun! That would’ve been the only thing to make our trip worthwhile!”

“I’ll never have to live with them again and that’s all I’ve ever wanted for about 16 years. I know that what they did was terrible but I don’t want revenge.”

“Can I at least tell them how despicable they are and that what they have done to you was just downright cruel and by no chance deserved?” Draco pleaded. Even though he had never met the Dursleys he already hated them more than he had ever hated Harry, just from what little Harry had told him about them. He really wanted to hex them to the next century for what they did to him and he thought it was a sign of his love for Harry that he would refrain from doing that.

Harry smiled. “Of course. I promise.”

Draco smiled, too and hugged Harry upon noting that he looked a little distressed now that he had been reminded of his relatives. Even though he had made the connection himself, Draco couldn’t help but feel sorry for bringing it up.

 

A few days later they were finally sitting in the Hogwarts Express again, in a compartment on their own, despite the repeated protests of their friends. They just needed to be as far away from people as possible in this cramped place.

Harry lay comfortably with his head in Draco’s lap, his face buried in his stomach on the verge of falling asleep. As kind of a parting gift he’d had a nightmare the last night and had to catch up on some sleep. Draco was threading his fingers through his hair, occasionally brushing his scales and combined with the lulling sound of the train that let him asleep quickly.

“Harry.” He woke up a few hours later to Draco’s soft voice. Slowly he opened his eyes and turned his head so he could look at Draco.

“Hey. Are we there?” He said, rubbing his eyes.

“Hey.” Draco smiled at him. “Not yet. But I’d like to get up for a minute and get some sweets, okay?”

“Mhmm…” Harry mumbled sleepily but heaved himself off Draco’s lap.

Draco kissed him on the cheek and then went out of the compartment to find the sweets trolley. Harry lay back down again, cushioning his head with Draco’s discarded cloak instead. Before Draco came back he was asleep again.

 

When they reached King’s Cross in the late afternoon, Harry had already been awake for a few hours and felt a lot better than when they had boarded the train. He took his time to say goodbye to his friends, even though he would see them again in just a few days, first Luna when she came over (Mrs Weasley hadn’t agreed to let Ginny come as well) and then the Weasleys and Hermione on Boxing Day (at least she had agreed to that, even though it was probably more for Harry and he couldn't very well go anywhere without Draco).

First Harry and Draco picked up Lucifer from the Manor who was already waiting eagerly for them, his bushy tail wagging ecstatically. They had only been home less than two weeks ago but they both enjoyed the excited greeting they got from the black ball of fluff, leaving them lying on the ground covered in dog spit.

Draco was the first to get up again and held out a hand to pull Harry to his feet again. Together they apparated home with Lucifer. Harry felt warmth spread through him upon their arrival, because this was truly home for him now. It had been for some time but only now did it really register in his mind. Draco saw him smile and pulled him into a gentle kiss.

“It’s good to be home again.” Draco whispered. “I’m so glad you’re here with me.”

“It feels good to be here with you.” Harry whispered back.

They stayed in their embrace until Lucifer started barking to get their attention again. Draco leaned down to pet him and then they went inside. Harry and Draco simultaneously released a great sigh. Finally they had some room on their own for more than just a few hours every other weekend.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally finished the next chapter. I had a writer's block for a while because some parts of the story progressed differently to how I had planned it but I like it how it is now.  
> I hope you like the new chapter.

“If we want to keep transforming once a day, we’ll have to do it with Lucifer around.” Draco pointed out while he filled Lucifer’s food bowl. The previous weeks they had always transformed early on Saturday morning before they went home and then on Sunday evening when they were back at Hogwarts but in the three weeks of Christmas holidays, Lucifer would have to get used to them in their Dragon forms as well.

“I know. Let’s just hope he doesn’t react too negatively. Maybe he’ll be able to sense that it’s us.” Harry said.

 

Apparently he did. When they went outside with him that evening and transformed in the garden Lucifer ran around them, barking and daring them to play with him. Draco and Harry chuckled at his antics but proceeded to chase him around the garden. Soon Lucifer was exhausted and lay down next to Draco in the grass pressing his side against Draco’s scales.

“ _Well, apparently he still knows it’s us._ ” Harry remarked as he joined them on the floor.

“ _Who would’ve thought that?_ ” Draco managed to sound scandalized. “ _It’s not like he just played around with us for two hours._ ”

Harry chuckled. “ _Prat. I love you._ ”

 

A few days later they were making their way through the masses of Christmas shoppers in Muggle London in search of Make-up for Pansy and books on Psychology for Draco as he wanted to learn mind-healing, the non-invasive, Muggle way. Their hands were linked at all times, for comfort, as it was still uncomfortable to be around so many people for such a long time and also to make sure they didn’t lose each other in the masses. They didn’t even notice the few hostile looks they were getting, not because they were used to it but because they were way too content to let anyone ruin their mood.

 

On their way back home, a clothing shop caught Draco’s eye and he tugged Harry along to go there. To his surprise the shop was almost empty save for a handful of customers.

Draco smiled brightly at the space he finally had and ran off to browse through the collections. Harry smiled at his antics and followed him at a much slower pace. Soon Harry’s arms were filled with clothes Draco wanted him to try on, while Draco carried an even bigger pile of clothes he had picked out for himself. But Harry didn’t mind, he didn’t mind at all. Shopping, especially clothes shopping, made Draco happy and Harry loved to see him happy, no matter how many shirts he had to try on or how many of them weren’t approved of by Draco in the end.

 

When they were finally home, both laden with an incredible amount of bags they hadn’t been able to shrink because there had been too many Muggles around, Draco decided to change into one of his newly bought dresses. It was green and made of warm, soft wool with long sleeves and a turtle neck. In other words it was perfect for lazy evenings spent on the sofa cuddling with Harry. He wore black tights underneath as the floor was quite chilly despite all the permanent warming charms that had been cast even before he had bought the house and should thus be quite effective.

Judging by the stunned look Harry wore when he first saw Draco in the dress he liked it, too. Draco smiled brightly and jumped the last few stairs down and into Harry’s open arms.

“You’re so beautiful…” Harry mumbled with his face buried in the soft wool of Draco’s dress. Lucifer trotted up to them and then tried to squeeze between them to get attention as well.

Chuckling Harry knelt down and wrapped his arms around Lucifer as well. “You’re beautiful, too, Lucifer.” He cooed. “The most beautiful dog I have ever known.”

Apparently satisfied Lucifer licked through Harry’s face and then trotted off again. Draco couldn’t help but snicker at Harry’s disgusted, dog spit coated face. At that Harry’s face instantly morphed into a glare that made Draco stop laughing at once. “Go wash your face.” He proposed instead. “I’ll wait for you in the living room.”

“Sometimes I really hate your dog, Malfoy.”

Draco knew Harry had only used his last name in good fun but he couldn’t help but feel a little hurt by it. Sighing he pulled one of the psychology books out of their countless shopping bags and curled up on the sofa to start reading it. Harry joined him just a few minutes later.

“I’m sorry, you know?” he said sounding like he meant it. But Draco had to be sure.

“For what?” he enquired.

“For calling you Malfoy earlier. You’re my life mate; I shouldn’t call you by your last name.”

“Apology accepted. How did you notice I was upset about it?”

“I didn’t.” Harry admitted. “I just felt bad for doing it seconds later.”

Draco smiled. “Come here, I want to kiss you, Potter.”

Harry laughed but complied, settling himself on top of Draco who had hastily put his Psychology book away. Then Draco pulled him down by his neck and kissed him gently.

“I really love you.” Draco whispered feeling Harry’s warmth and love envelop him.

Harry smiled happily, his hands buried in Draco’s hair. “I love you, too.”

 

The next day, when they took Lucifer on a walk, they met Grace once again. Upon seeing them she jumped up and ran over to them.

“Harry! Draco!” she exclaimed and embraced them both tightly. Then she crouched down and petted Lucifer.

“Hey Grace! It’s good to see you.”

“Where have you two been? I haven’t seen you in ages!”

Harry and Draco both blushed, remembering they didn’t even take the time to tell her they had returned to Hogwarts.

“We went back to Hogwarts. We still have to finish school after all; we just took some time off.”

“You can do that at Hogwarts? At Beauxbatons you could only leave the school during the holidays.”

Draco grinned. “Technically not. But we’re Magical Creatures so we need some time alone every once in a while.”

“Magical Creatures? I mean, Draco I could understand, you look like you might be part Veela but Harry? Is he your mate?”

“Yes, Harry is my mate and there may be Veela blood in my family but I am not a Veela.”

“Then what are you?”

“The Dragon Child.” Draco simply stated and delighted in the shocked look on Grace’s face.

“That… that can’t be… you’re joking, please tell me you’re joking!” Grace sounded almost terrified and judging from what liitle they knew about her that wasn’t an easy feat to achieve.

Harry stepped forward and loosely took Grace’s hands in his.

“I’ts okay” he soothed. “Breathe, Grace…” her breathing calmed a bit. “That’s good… now we’ll go back to ours and then you can explain what has you so terrified over a cup of tea.”

Grace nodded mutely and collapsed into Harry’s arms.

 

Draco knew he had no reason to be but he couldn’t help getting a bit jealous. He knew Harry would do the same for him if he were in the situation – hell he had done that for him when he had mourned Severus’ death properly for the first time. It just annoyed him that Harry was so affectionate with all of his friends and not just with him. Of course Harry kissed him and cuddled with him and slept in the same bed with him but he couldn’t help wanting more. Not sex. Draco knew Harry didn’t want that but he wanted something more, something no one had ever had before from Harry. He wanted something special.

He felt Harry’s eyes on him and judging from the look he shot him he had noticed Draco’s uneasiness.

“What’s wrong?” he mouthed.

Draco shook his head. “Nothing.” He mouthed back. It wasn’t important. He knew Harry was his boyfriend and loved him like he was. That should be enough, right?

 

Back at their house Draco offered to make tea while Harry went into the sitting room with Grace.

He had hoped to be able to sort through his thoughts while making tea but that was made impossible by Harry who joined him a minute later. He slung his arms around Draco’s waist possessively and didn’t that feel good.

“What were you upset about earlier?” Harry asked.

Draco sighed. “It was nothing, I told you.”

“I don’t like it when people lie to me, Draco. You know that. So why won’t you tell me the truth?”

“Because it’s stupid… It doesn’t matter.” He murmured, pointedly not leaning back into Harry’s embrace and instead concentrating on making tea.

“I don’t think it is. Otherwise you wouldn’t be so bothered about it.” Harry argued.

“Look, I’ll tell you, okay?” Draco gave in. “But later. Talking to Grace is more important right now.”

“Promise?”

Draco allowed a small smile to grace his lips. “Promise. Now let me finish the tea, you’re distracting me.”

Harry chuckled. “I love you, you know?”

“I know. I love you, too.” Draco turned around in Harry’s embrace and gave him a small peck. “Now shoo. It’s impolite to keep your guest waiting.”

“Yes, yes, I’m going.” Harry said smiling. “Don’t take too long.”

Draco just raised his eyebrow in response and turned around again to finish the tea.

 

A few minutes later he joined Grace and Harry in the sitting room, setting the tea tray on the couch table between them. And if he sat closer to Harry than necessary neither seemed to notice or care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this isn't too much of a cliffhanger, I promise I'll try to update as soon as possible.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I have to admit I'm really nervous about what you think of this chapter, a lot of stuff happens and I'm not sure if everything makes sense (it does in my head but I know a lot more details about this story than you do). So please comment what you think and tell me if anything is difficult to understand.
> 
> Now have fun with the chapter.

“I’m the descendant of the last Dragon Child.” Grace stated once they were all seated comfortably and had a mug of tea in their hands. Draco almost let his mug slip from his hands in surprise.

“You’re… what are the odds?” he asked, not believing what he’d just heard.

“It’s not about odds, it’s about fate. We were destined to meet according to a millennia old prophecy.”

Harry swallowed and gripped Draco’s hand tightly. Ever since he heard the prophecy about him being the only one able to kill Voldemort he hated the words _destined_ and _meant to be_. He liked to have control about his own life, thank you very much.

“And… what does that prophecy say?” Draco asked, letting the scales on his hand appear to calm them both down.

“It’s nothing life-threatening, I promise.” Grace hurried to say.

“Then why were you so… terrified when I mentioned I was the Dragon Child?” Draco asked further.

“I wasn’t… okay, yes I was but that was more because I thought I had a few more decades before I met you. One of the reasons I left France was actually to try and escape my fate a little longer. I’m supposed to be your… mentor is the English word I think. Together with the medium I’m supposed to guide you.”

“That’s… all?” Harry was surprised. He had expected this to be another prophecy that would ruin his life in every single aspect.

“The essence of it, yes. I’m sure the last Dragon Child could tell you the exact wording.”

“So there’s no evil Overlord that has to be vanquished or an evil Dragon? No one has to sacrifice themselves for the greater good?” Draco couldn’t believe it either. Prophecies were supposed to be dramatic and full of betrayal evil and death, weren’t they?

Grace shook her head chuckling. “No, nothing like that. Dragon prophecies are rather nice in that aspect. They’re more guidelines than actual prophecies.”

Draco was more than a little confused now. “Then why are you so worked up about it? From what I understand – correct me if I’m wrong – there are no repercussions for you whatsoever depending on whether you guide us all the time or even at all. We’ll all just continue to live our life in peace and should we need anything from you we will contact you somehow.”

“I… you’re right.” Grace said stunned. “Merlin, why didn’t I think of that? It doesn’t have to disrupt my life like I thought it would. Thank you for being both the cause and the solution to my dilemma.” Smiling she got up and hugged first Draco and then Harry briefly.

Then she sat back on the sofa opposite from them, looking a lot more relaxed than she did before. It wasn’t surprising in the least, considering that a few minutes ago she thought she would have to give up her life to guide them.

“But… don’t you want to know about the medium? I for one had a lot of questions about them when I first heard of the prophecy.” Grace said.

Draco and Harry shared a smile. “No.” Draco said. “We already have an idea who it could be.”

“Really? The average witch or wizard never consciously meets one in their lifetime.”

“Yeah. Her name is Luna Lovegood and she’s in the year below us in Hogwarts. She’s also one of our best friends.” Harry explained.

Grace’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Do you think you could introduce us sometime?”

Draco smiled. His Dragon instincts told him they would get along perfectly. “She’s coming over for a few hours tomorrow afternoon; you could meet her then if you wanted to.”

“Yes, I would love to, that’s perfect actually. I’ll just come over for tea, okay?”

“That’s fine. Just come over whenever you want, as long as we’re here our door is always open for you.” Harry offered.

“Thank you. Again. I’ve only known you for such a short time but you’re already my best friends.”

“It’s my charm!” Draco claimed self-assured.

“Just tell yourself that, Draco. But Harry and I know it’s only because of your dog that I hang out with you. Where is he anyway?”

“He probably ran off to cause mischief or fell asleep on his way there. Otherwise he wouldn’t leave the side of his favourite human.”

“Well, I’m afraid his favourite human has to leave now. I still have to get some things from Diagon Alley and then I have the night shift at St Mungo’s. Cuddle him for me, okay?”

“Will do.” Draco promised. “Have fun at work.”

“Hah, fun. They don’t know that word there. But thanks anyways.” Grace hugged them both again and then left.

 

“Now, please tell me what was bothering you this afternoon.” Harry demanded gently.

Despite the gentle tone, Draco still flinched involuntarily. He knew it was ridiculous to be jealous of Harry’s friends but he couldn’t help it. Harry had known all of them for at least six years (except for Grace of course) and they had been friends from the start, it was only natural that they were close. He and Harry had buried their hatchet only recently and had first become friends and then started a relationship, so Harry treated him like a friend as well as a romantic partner.

“I… It’s just… you’re so affectionate with all your friends… sometimes I feel like I’m just another one of your friends because you’re just as affectionate with me as you are with them…”

“Oh, Draco… I’m sorry that you feel like that.” Harry sighed and wrapped him in a tight hug. “How often have you seen me taking initiative and hug other people or being closer to them than I had to?”

“When… when they were upset and you wanted to comfort them.” Draco mumbled.

“Exactly.” Harry slowly ran his hand through Draco’s hair. “I can’t really help it, it’s part of my hero personality apparently. And now think about whenever I’m affectionate with you?”

“All the time…” Draco’s eyes widened at the realisation. Harry spent so much time alone with Draco – time he didn’t _have_ to spend with him as they were comfortable apart from each other for several hours now - and was so affectionate all the while. Of course Draco thought Harry was as affectionate with his friends when he wasn’t around. But to find out that wasn’t the case made him more than happy.

“Thank you.” He whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Harry pulled Draco onto his lap and kissed him gently. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Draco knew he shouldn’t ask for more, Harry already gave him so much more than he deserved but he couldn’t help it.

“You don’t have to but… can you… can you give me something of you no one has had before?”

Draco was sure Harry would deny his request and was more than surprised when he said “I can”.

Harry gently pushed Draco off his lap again and then pulled him up the stairs and into their bedroom. There he started to calmly undress and Draco could only watch stunned.

When he was only in his boxers he shyly looked up at Draco.

“Harry, what…?” Draco stammered but Harry shushed him.

“No one has ever seen me like this. In an intimate setting at least. I trust you not to hurt me or take advantage of me.”

“You’re so beautiful, Harry.” Draco gasped. His eyes glided over smooth dark skin, the numerous scars and also the beautiful black scales that were scattered all over Harry’s body. It seemed he had even more scales than Draco did. And Draco could say without a doubt that he had never something more magnificent.

“I want you to use Legilimency on me.” Harry said and it took a few seconds until the sentence registered in Draco’s mind.

“Why?” he gasped.

“There are a few memories I want to show you that will explain why I can’t dismiss the possibility of you leaving me for someone who wants to have sex with you.”

“You don’t have to do this, Harry.” Draco said gently, brushing a stray lock out of his face.

“I know. But I want to. I want you to know. I want you to understand.”

“Okay.” Draco was overwhelmed by how much Harry had to trust him to want him to use Legilimency on him. Not long ago Draco had seen the pained expression on Harry’s face when Draco had suggested to use Legilimency on him to help him transforming into his Dragon form. It had to be really important to Harry that he knew to request it like this. “Do you want to get dressed first?”

“No. I’d rather do it like this.”

“Okay.” Draco repeated and kissed Harry before he gently placed his fingers on Harry’s temples. His eyebrow rose in silent question one last time but Harry just nodded so he whispered _Legilimens_ and dove into Harry’s mind.

 

Draco had expected Harry’s mind to be a loud and colourful mess but apparently he had gotten better with Occlumency as it was calm and there was only one memory or rather, a bundle of memories, seemingly calling out to him.

He imagined himself walking up to it and then touching it. As soon as he had finished that thought he was pulled into the memory.

The first thing he felt was a hand caressing his arm and he realized that this was very different to a memory viewed in a pensieve. Here he saw the memory from Harry’s point of view and wasn’t able to walk around to look at it from different angles. And he could also feel what Harry had felt in that moment. Right now he felt beyond nervous.

“It’s alright, Harry,” a female voice said. “We don’t have to have sex now.” It was Ginny, Draco realized, right before the scenery changed but the protagonists stayed the same. This time they both sat on a bed that took up most of the space in a small bedroom.

“It doesn’t feel right, Ginny.” Draco said with Harry’s voice.

Ginny slowly slid her fingers through his hair. “It’s alright, Harry. We don’t have to do this now, I can wait.”

Again Draco was pulled into the next memory. They were once again sitting on a bed in what Draco presumed was the Room of Requirement. In the previous memories they had both been dressed but this time Ginny wore considerably less and Harry was a lot more nervous. Draco couldn’t help but feel strange at the sight of an almost naked girl and it wasn’t helped by the fact that said girl was his boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend.

“Come on, Harry, just this once.” Ginny pleaded. “You’ll be gone tomorrow to search for Merlin knows what for Dumbledore and I don’t know when or if I’m going to see you again. Please just make love to me this one time.”

Draco could feel Harry’s heart beat wildly in his chest and at the same time he felt bad for not being able to fulfil her wish. But then Harry’s Gryffindor bravery kicked in and he pushed her hands away and got up from the bed.

“No.” he said, sounding defeated. “I love you, Ginny, but I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“What is wrong with you, Harry?” she asked, obviously upset. “Every guy loves sex.”

Draco’s vision got blurry and he realized that Harry had started crying. He retreated from the memory as slowly and gently as possible until he could open his eyes and see Harry’s tear streaked face, similar to that of memory-Harry.

“I’m so sorry, Harry.” He whispered. Harry let out a strangled sob and collapsed into Draco’s arms. “But you have to know that I would never do something like that.”

“How can you be so s-sure?” Harry sobbed.

“First of all, I know that you’re asexual and I would never go against your wishes, especially when it comes to intimacy. And secondly there’s a kind of Dragon instinct that makes me unable to rape you or anything similar.”

Harry only started sobbing even harder at that. “I don’t deserve you.” He said through the waterfalls of tears.

“You deserve so much more than me Harry, you deserve the world.”

“I love you, Draco.”

“I love you, too, Harry. Thank you for showing me the memory, for trusting me enough to show me the memory. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Draco turned them around so he could fall back onto the bed pulling Harry with him and cuddling him as close as possible. He lightly kissed Harry’s forehead and they stayed like that for a long time, sometimes touching the other softly, their gazes locked the whole time.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I finally finished a new chapter. Please tell me what you think. Merry Christmas to all of you and thanks for sticking with this story for more than half a year already.

“Draco?” Harry asked the next day during breakfast.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Uhm… could you maybe tell me more about that Dragon instinct you told me about yesterday? That makes you unable to rape me?” Harry seemed to be really uncomfortable about asking.

Draco smiled gently at him. “Sure.” He assured him. “I’ll tell you after breakfast.”

 

Half an hour later they had curled up on the sofa in front of the hearth fire, Harry’s head lying in Draco’s lap. Draco gently petted Harry’s hair and then started to explain.

“Ten Dragon lives, so about 10 000 years ago, something unforgivable happened. Back then the Dragon Child was a guy who had had a crush on a girl ever since he had met her the first time. When he found out she was his Drakhono he was more than happy because he could finally be in a relationship with her. They were life mates after all, it was only logical in his opinion.

“But she didn’t want to be in a relationship with him. She didn’t lead him on or anything, she just told him plain and simple: I'm sorry, but I just got to be honest, you're not my type, no hard feelings, thank you.”

“And he didn’t like it?” Harry interrupted.

“He didn’t like it at all.” Draco confirmed. “He thought because she was his mate, he was entitled to her and she had to agree with everything he wanted. And one night, he just took what he wanted.”

Harry gasped. “That’s horrible!” he tensed visibly under Draco’s hands. Draco just massaged his skull until he had relaxed a little again.

“It is,” he then agreed. “The whole Dragon society was enraged when they felt the breach of their most important law.”

“Their most important law?”

“Yes. It says that a Dragon is to never do anything without the consent of everyone participating.”

“Oh. That’s a very good law.”

“It is indeed. And no Dragon has breached it in well over twenty centuries.”

“So what happened when the law was breached?” Harry asked, entwining their fingers.

“The Dragon Deity was furious. Not only did she take all of his powers and his magic away, leaving him a Muggle with no memory of the magical world but she also put a spell on every Dragon Child and Drakhono from then on, making them unable to violate anyone, even before they come into their inheritance.”

“So you never could nor would ever abuse me?” Harry asked just to clarify.

“Exactly.” Draco assured him.

“Okay. Thank you for being so patient with me.” Harry smiled and pulled Draco down into a kiss.

 

“What happened to the girl after that?” Harry asked a few minutes later, his interest peaked. He had no idea what he would have done, had he been in her situation.

“The Dragon Deity granted her one wish and she only wished to keep her Dragon powers so she became the only Drakhono who ever lived without their Dragon Child. In the end she had the same abilities she would’ve had had her Dragon Child learned them with her.”

“She got a happy ending, then?”

“I’d say so. Of course we can’t know for sure. Maybe she felt lonely without her Dragon Child around.”

“Well, I’d feel lonely without you around. Even back before the war it was strange not having you tease me every day.”

Draco leaned down to kiss Harry again. “I’d feel lonely, too,” he admitted.

 

After lunch Harry and Draco flooed to the Leaky Cauldron where they met Luna and her father. They made the necessary introductions (Luna told her father Draco had been the one to bring them food when they had been held hostage in the Manor) and reassurances that Luna would be back in time for dinner before they took her back to their house. There, Lucifer already awaited them eagerly. He pounced on Luna and licked through her face, making her giggle hysterically.

“Draco really didn’t exaggerate when he told us you were easily excited.” Luna gasped out. Lucifer licked through her face again, apparently agreeing wholeheartedly.

“Come on, Lucifer.” Draco finally chided. “Let’s go on a walk. Grace is coming over later today and we don’t want to miss her, right?”

At the mention of his favourite human, Lucifer let off Luna and jumped up at Draco instead, placing his front paws on his shoulders. Draco also got a short lick through his face before Lucifer jumped off again and ran away in the direction of the front door, barking all the while to make them hurry.

Chuckling, Draco handed Luna a handkerchief and then disappeared into the bathroom to get rid of the dog spit on his own face.

 

They decided to go for a walk in the small forest behind the house. It was part of the property but Draco had never explored it at all, having enough to do inside the house and the small garden surrounding it. Lucifer ran around excited, jumping through the fallen leaves that covered the whole ground as it hadn’t really snowed yet.

Draco slipped his cold hand in Harry’s constantly warm one. Harry turned his head and smiled at him warmly. They were in their own little world, barely noticing Luna playing around with Lucifer a few steps ahead. Something had changed in their relationship in the last few hours and Draco wasn’t entirely sure it was only that Harry really seemed to believe now that Draco would never hurt him, he just knew that it felt good.

 

When they had reached the edge of the forest again, Draco saw Grace already walking up to their house and the four of them raced back to be there before she was. Lucifer of course reached her first and jumped around her in circles excitedly. Just a minute later, Draco and Harry arrived as well, followed by Luna. Together they went inside and while Draco cleaned Lucifer’s paws, so he wouldn’t leave muddy paw prints in the whole house, and Harry made tea, the two girls got comfortable in the sitting room.

When Draco came back he saw them both converse animatedly and had to keep Lucifer from interrupting the scene. Harry raised an eyebrow when he saw them both standing on the edge of the doorway, peeking into the sitting room but had to smile when he saw why they did.

“I knew it,” Draco whispered.

“You knew what?”

“That they would get along perfectly. Grace looks at Luna like one would at a precious gemstone, don’t you see?”

“Yes, I see.” Harry agreed then and wrapped his arms around Draco. “My precious gemstone.”

Draco blushed. “Thank you. But we should go in now or they’ll ask what took us so long.”

“You’re right.” Harry agreed and gave Draco a small kiss before letting go of him. When Draco released Lucifer’s collar, Lucifer, feeling his freedom, barged into the room and licked Luna’s and Grace’s hand before he lay down in front of their feet.

Once he was settled, Harry and Draco joined them, sitting down on the sofa across from the girls. Grace and Luna interrupted their conversation and looked at them expectantly.

“It seems you’re getting along nicely.” Draco noted.

“We do!” Luna agreed enthusiastically. “Grace just told me about her first day at St Mungo’s.

“Yes. It was really chaotic because the war hadn’t been over for long and I almost spent the whole day running around between the different wards to fetch something or other. But I haven’t told you the funniest thing that happened. I can’t tell names of course…” with that Grace jumped into a retelling of one of her favourite hospital adventures and soon they all took turns telling stories. Draco was rather surprised about just how much Harry had experienced during their years at Hogwarts and how little he had known about those adventures until now.

 

After an hour of talking and drinking tea, Luna told them she wanted to sit on the swing set she had seen in the garden earlier. Grace offered to accompany her and they both disappeared into the garden.

Once they had left the room, Draco leaned over to Harry and whispered “I told you,” into his ear.

Harry laughed but had to agree. They really seemed to be perfect for each other. Luna deserved someone to love her like she was and if Grace did, he definitely wouldn’t complain.

He was brought out of his musings when Draco tapped on his shoulder.

“Look!”

Harry looked where Draco pointed at and smiled. Through the window that looked out over the garden he could see Luna sitting on Grace’s lap on the swing and it looked like they were kissing.

“Matchmaker Malfoy.” Harry teased.

“Am not.” Draco pouted. “They did that all on their own. I didn’t even introduce them. I just let them into our house at the same time.”

Harry smiled. “I’m just teasing.” He pulled Draco close and kissed him on the forehead.

 

For dinner they were alone again as Grace had volunteered to bring Luna back to the Leaky Cauldron. They only had a small meal as they would eat more than enough in the next few days between Christmas at Andromeda’s and at the Weasleys’. After dinner they spent some time pouring over their textbooks to get as much homework as possible done before Christmas and then went to bed early.

 

“What do you think about when you masturbate, then?” Harry asked out of the blue when they lay in bed cuddled close.

Draco looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “What?” a grin teased on his lips.

“You heard me.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I want to know if you’re thinking about me while you do it.” Harry clarified and smiled innocently.

“Of course I think of you, love.” Draco said, gently brushing hair away from Harry’s forehead. “Mostly of kissing you but now that I’ve seen you almost naked it will probably feature in some of my fantasies as well. Do you have a problem with that?”

Harry shook his head, erasing all of Draco’s effort to keep Harry’s hair out of his face. “No, not at all. I kinda like it actually. Is that weird?”

“I don’t think it is.” Draco assured him and kissed his forehead.

“Okay… good. I’m glad.” With that he cuddled closer to Draco and closed his eyes to fall asleep.

Draco smiled down at him. “I love you so much, Harry.” He petted Harry’s hair one last time and then closed his eyes as well.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had already written most of this chapter before finishing the last one. It isn't the Christmas chapter yet but it leads up to it. I hope you enjoy it and have a happy Christmas/Holiday/Friday.

Harry woke up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason and found the covers next to him cold and empty. Draco must’ve been up for some time already.

“Draco?” he asked into the darkness, not really expecting a reply. When he didn’t get one, he went downstairs. He sighed relieved when he found Draco curled up on the sofa in the sitting room, a mug clutched tightly in his hands.

“Draco?” he asked again. Draco looked up at him, startled.

“Harry…” he whispered.

Harry saw the distress in his eyes and walked over to comfort him. He took the mug out of Draco’s hands, noticing it was filled with cooled tea and put it on the table. Then he sat down next to Draco and pulled him into his arms.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” he asked gently, rubbing Draco’s arms in a soothing manner.

Draco looked down, obviously ashamed of his behavior. “It was just a stupid dream,” he mumbled.

Harry sighed and took Draco’s hands in his. “Nothing that distresses you like this is ever stupid, Dragon,” he insisted. “I just told you that a few days ago. You don’t have to tell me what happened in the dream but please at least tell me what I can do to make you feel better again.”

“I… I told my mother about being non-binary…” Draco whispered and started crying, burying his head in Harry’s chest.

Knowing from just those few words what had probably happened in the dream, Harry wrapped his arms tightly around Draco’s shaking body and comforted him as well as he could.

After a few minutes, Draco’s crying had stopped save for the occasional sob and he looked up at Harry teary eyed.

“Don’t you want to know what happened then?” he asked.

“Only if you want to tell me. I won’t pressure you into telling me anything.”

“Thank you.” Draco showed a small smile. “But I want to tell you.”

“Okay. Take your time. We can still take a nap before we go to Andromeda should we not get enough sleep tonight.”

Draco nodded and cuddled still closer to Harry’s chest.

“You probably already guessed this but… my mother didn’t take my coming out well in the dream. She insisted I was a boy because I was born and raised as a boy.” Small tears gathered in Draco’s eyes and rolled down his cheeks.

“I could’ve taken that. But then…” Draco started full out crying again, hiding his face in Harry’s chest. He didn’t talk for a few minutes and just cried while Harry tried to comfort him.

“Then you… you agreed with her… You said you just accepted it because we… we had to stay close because of the bond and you didn’t want to up- upset me.”

Once again Draco was silently crying.

“I would never do that, Dragon,” Harry tried to assure him in a gentle voice. “I love you like you are and everything you are.” Harry kissed the crown of Draco’s head. “I love how affectionate you are when we’re alone. I love how cuddly you get when you’re sleepy. I love how you care for me and let me care for you in return. I love how you make me feel safe. I love how relieved you look when you can finally change into whatever you want to wear when we’re alone at last after spending the day with other people. I love how you changed from the boy I hated to the person I love the most. You’re my best friend and my romantic partner and I couldn’t ask for anything better than what I have with you because I think it’s perfect.”

When Draco looked up at Harry again he was smiling but there were still tears running from his eyes steadily.

“Hey… shhh…” Harry soothed. “It’s okay… everything will be okay…”

“I know…” Draco said through his tears. “I’m crying because I’m so happy… I don’t know what to say… I never thought you’d love me this much…”

Harry smiled down at Draco and put his hand under his chin to gently coax it upwards. “Of course I do,” he said and gave Draco a sweet gentle kiss. “Is there something else keeping you from sleep or shall we go back to bed?”

“I’m okay. No matter what happens tomorrow, I’ll have you.”

“You will, I promise. Now, let’s get some more sleep.”

Draco just wrapped his arms and legs around Harry in response, clinging to him like a monkey.

Harry smiled. “You could’ve just asked me to carry you, you know?”

“Carry me?” Draco whispered in Harry’s ear.

“Sure.” Harry placed a kiss on Draco’s cheek and then slowly got up, his hands holding up Draco’s thighs, to carry him back to their bedroom.

Once there, Draco curled up under the still warm blanket on Harry’s side of the bed. Harry smiled down at him and then lay down next to him, shuffling closer until his chest was pressed against Draco’s back. He put his arms around Draco in a comforting embrace and then easily fell asleep again.

 

Draco stayed up a little longer, still not fully able to believe Harry really loved him as much as he said he did. But his true colors would show the next day when Draco came out to what was left of his family, wouldn’t they? He just hoped it would go over well. He loved his mother and he was almost certain he woudn’t be able to take her not accepting his gender. He smiled when he remembered the promise Harry had given him just minutes ago, that he would still have him at least, no matter how things worked out with his mother and with that smile on his face he finally fell asleep again.

 

The next day Draco woke up feeling more refreshed than he had in weeks. Who knew crying could have such a good outcome? He slowly opened his eyes and gazed directly into Harry’s green eyes.

“Good morning, love.” Harry whispered and smiled.

“Good morning. What time is it?”

“Around noon. We still have plenty of time until we have to leave for Andromeda’s. How are you feeling?” Draco could hear the concern in Harry’s voice as well as see it in his eyes.

“Better. But I’m not sure whether I’m really ready to come out today.”

Harry stretched out his hand and slowly slid his fingers over Draco’s cheek. “That’s okay. You don’t have to. It’s your decision, no one else’s.”

“I know… I just wanted you to know. I think I’ll still wear what I want to and just use a Dragon Glamour to hide it.”

 

Half an hour before they wanted to leave for Andromeda’s, Harry found Draco in the bathroom adjacent to their bedroom, calmly applying make-up.

“Draco?” Draco finished whatever he was currently doing and turned around to face Harry.

“Yeah?”

“Can I go like this?”

Harry felt Draco scrutinizing his outfit consisting of black slacks and robes, an emerald green dress shirt and a black tie.

“That shade of green looks great on you.” Draco commented. “It makes your eyes stand out even more. And I’m sure mother will appreciate the Slytherin colors. Yes, I think you can go like that. We’ll try to tame your hair another time.”

Harry smiled. “Thanks. I’m glad you approve.”

“I do. Now, shoo, I need to get ready.”

Harry left the bathroom, knowing Draco didn’t like it when he watched him getting ready.

 

A few minutes later, Draco called him back inside.

“I know you have no sense for fashion whatsoever but do you think I can go like this?”

“Thanks a lot, Draco. You’re always so nice.”

“Well, I have to be. You’re my boyfriend.” Draco pointed out.

“You’re right of course.” Harry agreed and joined Draco in the bathroom. He wore the green wool dress again, this time over delicate lace tights. Together with his simple hoop earrings the make-up accentuated his face and made his eyes look more silver than grey. The silver clasp on his arm in the form of a Dragon claw completed the ensemble. “You look great, Dragon.” He wrapped his arms around Draco from behind and put his head on Draco’s shoulder. They looked at each other through the mirror.

“Is it too much?” Draco asked.

“Do you like how you look?” Harry asked back.

“Well, yeah. Otherwise I wouldn’t be wearing this.” Draco shot him a look that stated quite clearly that he thought Harry was dense.

“Then it isn’t.” Harry assured him and placed a kiss on Draco’s jaw.

“Good. Then I’ll just put on the glamour and we’re ready to go.”


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christmas is finally upon us! Please tell me if you like the presents and reactions.
> 
> I'll probably update some of the earlier chapters soon but I'll tell you whether there are any changes to the general plot once I upload the next chapter.

Half an hour later they had apparated to the doorstep of the townhouse where Andromeda was living with Teddy. Draco stepped forward and rang the bell.

A minute later, Andromeda opened the door; Teddy perched on her hip and a smile on her face.

“Draco, Harry! It’s good to see you. Come inside.”

Teddy apparently thought so to. He babbled something and stretched his small arms out to them.

“Hello, Aunt Andromeda. And Teddy of course.” Draco greeted them with a smile of his own. “Should I take him?” he offered and Andromeda handed Teddy over to him. Draco settled Teddy on his hip while Harry made his greetings.

Together they went into the small townhouse. Draco had been here once before with Harry during one of their weekends away from school and had instantly taken a liking to it. It was a little on the small side but more than enough for the two people living there. Somehow it was both cosy and airy and he wished he had gotten to know his aunt earlier so he could’ve spent some weeks during the previous summers with her instead of alone in the Manor.

They went into the dining room where his mother already sat at the table, waiting for them. She got up when they entered the room and hugged first Draco, taking care not to jostle Teddy, and then Harry.

“You both look lovely tonight.” She told them.

Harry shot Draco a cheeky smile. It was true, the Dragon glamour made Draco look very good but he would feel better if he was able to just look like he wanted to openly.

“You do too, mother.” He replied.

Harry blushed. “Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy.”

“Now stop that,” she chided. “I told you to call me Narcissa. You’re family now.”

“Right. Sorry, Narcissa.”

“It’s alright, Harry. But do try to remember. We may not have known each other for long but as I’m sure Draco has told you, I mentally adopt everyone he’s close to.”

“Yes, he told me.” Harry smiled. “It seems I have four mothers now.”

“Four?” Draco asked confused. “I can only think of three.”

“Well, there’s of course Lily, my biological mother. Then there’s Mrs. Weasley, Narcissa and Andromeda.”

Andromeda, who had just entered the room carrying the stew they would have for dinner, chuckled next to them. “You see me as a mother figure, Harry?”

Harry turned around, surprised. “Of course I do. You’ve accepted me so readily into your small family and not only as Teddy’s godfather, how could I see you as anything but?”

Andromeda smiled and put the stew on the table before hugging him tightly.

“Now sit down, the food is on the table.”

They all did, Narcissa and Andromeda on one side of the table and Harry and Draco on the other. Teddy sat in his high chair at the head of the table next to Andromeda and Harry.

 

After dinner, which had almost been as good as the cooking from the house elves at Hogwarts in Draco’s opinion, they recovered to the living room where a ceiling high Christmas tree doused the whole room in a festive light. They all sat down on the two opposite couches, Andromeda and Narcissa on the one next to the Christmas tree and Draco and Harry with Teddy between them on the other.

Teddy, as the youngest, received his presents first. Draco took Harry’s and his present for him out of his pocket and returned it to its proper size which was a little larger than Teddy before handing it to him. Excitedly Teddy tore into the paper, knowing at barely eight month how much fun it was already. He squealed happily when something even better than wrapping paper was revealed. He pressed the plush Dragon to his chest and looked up at Draco in adoration, his hair changing to look like Draco’s. Draco smiled as he saw the change but his eyes widened as Teddy’s hair grew longer as well. Could he look through the Glamour? His hand found Harry’s and Harry instantly started petting the scales on it to calm him.

“ _Don’t worry_.” Harry whispered in Drakhan. “ _Even if he can see it, he won’t be able to tell anyone_.”

Draco relaxed at the soft reassuring words. “ _You’re right. Thank you_.”

Neither Andromeda nor Narcissa noticed their short exchange as they were more interested in the fact that Teddy had imitated Draco’s hair colour so perfectly in the first try.

Teddy still clung to the Dragon and it took some coaxing until he let Draco hold it so Harry could give him Narcissa’s present to open. It contained a soft blanket that seemed to be spelled to change colour when Teddy’s hair did as it turned pink from the previous cream colour when Teddy’s hair did in excitement over the gift.

The last present he got was from Andromeda, a mobile to hang over his crib, beautiful but fragile, which was why she had Harry unwrap it for him.

The next to receive presents was Andromeda. She had tried to discourage them from buying presents for her but even Harry had insisted. He and Draco had gotten her a glass cube in which her Patronus and those of her family, including Remus Lupin could be seen playing around.

“We thought about getting portraits commissioned but we felt it might make you sad rather than happy and we didn’t want that. Then Harry thought about Patronuses because they’re closely related to happiness. That way you can remember them how they were when they were happy because every Patronus will play out their happiest memory on the surface of the cube when you call their name while touching it.” Draco explained. When Andromeda looked up from the cube she had tears in her eyes. She gave the cube to Narcissa and then went over to Draco and Harry, hugging them both to their chest.

“Thank you,” she said through her tears. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

She had barely calmed down again when Narcissa thought it save to hand her present over, making her start crying again. “That… that is a Black heirloom.” She brought out. “I can’t take this Cissa. It’s yours.”

“Oh shush.” Narcissa scolded, taking Andromeda’s hand in hers. “This is your birth right. You’re as much a Black as I am. You deserve to have it.”

After some more hugging, this time between the sisters, it was Narcissa’s turn to get presents as Harry and Draco had insisted to go last.

She received delicate diamond earrings from Harry and Draco and a book on basic healing spells and potions from Andromeda as she had voiced the wish to learn about it.

Then, it was Harry’s and Draco’s turn to receive presents. They handed Teddy over to Andromeda to have their hands free about which Teddy complained rather loudly. He calmed down after a few seconds thankfully, clinging to his Dragon plushie.

“He seems to like you a lot.” Andromeda observed.

“That’s my natural charm!” Draco claimed. “I’m very likable.”

Harry chuckled. “Error! Narcissistic prat personality is malfunctioning! Please try something else.”

The others soon joined him in his amusement and Teddy beamed as he saw them laughing.

Draco kissed Harry on the cheek and then placed his lips right next to Harry’s ear.

“Is the loving partner personality better?” he whispered teasingly.

“I didn’t say I don’t like the narcissistic prat personality. I simply pointed out it was malfunctioning because you haven’t used it seriously for a while. But yes, I do like this personality better.”

They were so occupied with teasing the other that they only realized they weren’t alone in the room when two presents were dropped into their laps. They looked up and grinned sheepishly but Narcissa just smiled at them.

“It’s nice to see how perfectly you get along now. But I think it’s time to open your presents now.”

They both nodded and opened their presents carefully. Harry’s contained a book on Wizarding customs and etiquette. He smiled at Narcissa seeing it as the unofficial acceptance into the family that it was. The official part would happen once they got married and Harry thought they weren’t quite ready for that yet so the simple present meant a lot to him.

Draco received a messenger bag made from Dragon hide and a box of Honeydukes chocolate from his mother and thanked her with a smile as well.

Andromeda gifted them with a copy of the Tale of the First Dragon Child she had found in a second-hand shop.

“This is great!” Draco exclaimed. “Thank you, Andromeda. I tried to get my hands on one of these for months.” He went over to her and pressed a small kiss to her cheek. All hail to kiss-proof lipstick.

Draco gave Harry the snake bracelet and they both watched fascinated as it wrapped itself around Harry’s wrist almost like a real snake. Once it had settled, Harry looked up at Draco with a smile. “Thank you. It’s beautiful.”

Last but not least was Harry’s present for Draco. It was a small black wooden box, the name Williams Weaponry engraved in the lid. Draco opened it carefully and gasped when he saw what lay inside. It was a beautiful and delicate dagger. A snakelike Dragon was etched into the blade and the wooden handle was shaped like flames but still looked like it was comfortable to hold.

“It’s beautiful, Harry.” Draco said. “Thank you.” Harry just smiled and told him to turn it around.

Draco gasped again when he read the two lines etched into the back of the blade.

_Days come and go_

_But my feelings for you are forever._

“ _Don’t cry_ ,” he told himself. “ _Don’t you dare cry now. Mother is there she won’t approve. Malfoys don’t cry. You can cry later when you tell Harry how much this means to you._ ” After a few deep breaths he had caught himself again and looked at Harry with a grateful smile.

“Thank you,” he said again. “It’s perfect, I love it.”

Harry smiled back and pulled him in a tight hug, showing Draco that he knew how close to crying he was and comforting him at the same time.

Teddy seemed to notice something was wrong as well as he tried to wind out of Andromeda’s arms and stretched his arms out in Draco’s direction. Draco chuckled when he saw it and went over to Andromeda to take him.

“I’m alright,” he assured the infant. There’s no need to fuss.”

He sat down next to Harry again and leaned his head against Harry’s shoulder. “Everything is okay now…” he breathed, petting Teddy’s hair that had changed to grey. Teddy crawled up Draco’s chest and then placed a sloppy wet baby kiss on his cheek.

Draco smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek in turn. “Thanks buddy.”

 

When they left a few hours later it was with bright smiles, full bellies and slightly dizzy heads from the wine they’d had after Teddy had fallen asleep in his crib. Draco hadn’t come out to them but it was okay. Harry knew and that was enough for now.

Once they were home again Draco dropped his glamour and practically jumped into Harry’s arms. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he sighed into Harry’s collar. “This was the best Christmas with family I’ve ever had. Thank you for being there and for the present. It really is perfect. I don’t know what to say other than that.”

“You don’t need to say anything more. I can see how much you adore it.”

“Mhmmm…” Draco purred and placed feather light kisses all over Harry’s neck.

“Are you clingy because you’re drunk or because you’re sleepy?” Harry asked smiling. “Not that I complain, of course.”

“I’m happy and drunk and sleepy and I feel like it. That’s why.”

Harry smiled and pulled Draco closer. “Let’s go to bed, it’s late.”

“Carry me?” Draco asked, his eyes already drooping.

Harry agreed but not trusting his drunk self, cast a featherlight charm on Draco and a protection charm on both of them in case he stumbled. Then he picked Draco up and brought him into their bedroom for the second time in less than twenty-four hours.

In the bedroom Draco didn’t want to let go of Harry. Harry sighed but cast a mouth-cleaning charm on both of them before exchanging their clothes for pyjamas with another handy spell. He laughed when he realized he had used more spells in one evening while being drunk than the whole previous day in total. He then lay down next to Draco who was miraculously already asleep. He wrapped his arms around him and then fell asleep fairly quickly as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The text etched into Draco's dagger is from Forever by Papa Roach. The rest of the song doesn't fit this fic at all but I loved those lines too much not to include it somewhere.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have so many different versions of this chapter on my phone but I'm pretty sure this is the best one. Enjoy!
> 
> (I'm also Snowbaz trash now. I finished the book in less than 3 days and I need fic recs now. If you have some or just want to talk, my tumblr is satans-trainee)

The next morning Harry woke up late. His legs were tangled with Draco’s, his head lay on Draco’s chest and he was completely content. He looked up and saw Draco once again reading the Dragon Child’s diary.

Draco looked up when he felt Harry’s gaze on him and smiled. “Good morning, sleepyhead.” He ruffled Harry’s hair with one hand and then concentrated on the book again, keeping his hand in Harry’s hair, occasionally petting it. Harry didn’t mind at all that Draco was so engrossed in the book, in fact he rather liked how Draco played with his hair absentmindedly.

 

It took them until midday to get out of bed only to cuddle up on the couch again in Christmas jumpers and pyjama pants. There were three more gifts lying underneath the Christmas tree. They had decorated it together with silver ornaments, making it look like it had been stolen straight out of the Slytherin common room. Draco had been quite surprised when Harry hadn’t argued with him about the choice of colour but he guessed even the proudest Gryffindor would be sick of red and gold at some point. Silver and green was a much more pleasant combination for the eye. Lucifer lay to their feet, contentedly gnawing on a toy.

The first to move again was Harry, levitating the present he had for Draco over to them. Draco opened it carefully and raised an eyebrow as he realized it consisted of three smaller presents. He hadn’t bought too many presents for Harry then. Harry had bought him just as many. The first of the presents was another box from Williams Weaponry.

“Another dagger?” he asked even before he had opened the box.

“The other one is more for decoration purposes.” Harry explained. “I want you to be able to defend yourself even without magic.”

Draco smiled at Harry’s thoughtfulness. But he was right; if he was ever in a Muggle area he couldn’t very well defend himself with magic or in his Dragon form. A dagger would come in handy then. He could also coat it in potions for all kinds of purposes, including but not limited to torture of course. He opened the box and slowly traced his initials that were burned into the handle on one side. On the other side one could see the Malfoy family crest.

“I’m sure it will come in handy at some point.” He said and smiled.

The second present Harry had for Draco was a silver hair clasp decorated with diamonds and sapphires. Draco carefully took it out of the wrapping and smiled. It was a sign of acceptance from Harry and a thank you for trusting him with his biggest secrets or at least it was if Harry had put as much thought into his presents as Draco had into his presents for Harry. He placed it on the table next to the dagger and shifted his attention to the last present. It was wrapped in another layer of wrapping paper and Draco picked it up to find out what it was before he opened it.

It felt soft; it could be clothes or maybe a blanket. But why would Harry give him a blanket? So, clothes it was. Smiling and confident he wouldn’t be surprised by whatever Harry’s last present was he carefully opened the wrapping and had to gasp when he was proven wrong. Harry _had_ managed to surprise him, after all. He traced the silver embroidery saying Copeland Clothing with his fingertips before pulling the dark blue dress out of the wrapping completely.

Draco had been wrong. _This_ was the present Harry had gotten to show him that he accepted him completely and loved him like he was. The hair clip was just an accessory that fit exceptionally well with the dress.

“You snake,” he complained in a fond voice. “Going all Slytherin on me to not spoil the surprise. You bought this the day we were in Hogsmeade together, didn’t you? When I met you at Honeydukes?”

“I picked it up that day.” Harry corrected. “I paid upfront when I commissioned it.”

“I… commissioned?” Draco stuttered. He had no idea how many more surprises like this he would be able to take. “But… that must’ve cost a fortune!” The cheapest robes from Copeland cost about 200 Galleons, he didn’t even want to imagine how much Harry had paid for a commissioned work with as many details as the dress had. There was a lot of detailed embroidery on the soft midnight blue fabric with what looked to be strands of incredibly thin silver wire and as it was from Copeland there were surely at least a dozen hidden pockets and sheaths for weapons, potion vials and other small items (he had heard about a rumour that one of the Slytherin girls in the year above them had carried her make-up around in the hidden pockets of her Copeland dress).

“You’re completely mental.” He finally brought out sounding a little choked. “This is beautiful and just so flawlessly crafted. It’s just perfect and I love it. Thank you.” It didn’t feel like it was enough, just saying thank you, it felt completely inappropriate for such a perfect gift. It was so thoughtful and just the right gift at the right time. But he couldn’t say anything else, because if he tried to think about any words to describe his feelings properly he would surely start to cry.

“You’re welcome. But you should thank Mr Copeland as well. He was the one who came up with the design and the colour scheme. I basically just told him I needed a dress with a plethora of hidden pockets that looked beautiful on you.”

Draco smiled fondly and kissed Harry. He would’ve been very surprised indeed if Harry had developed a sense in fashion in so little time and he was glad he had let Copeland make all the decisions concerning the style of the dress.

“I will.” He promised.

 

Then it was Harry’s turn to get presents. Draco first handed him a rectangle package that looked suspiciously like a book. He raised an eyebrow in Draco’s direction but he just smiled encouragingly. Harry doubted Draco would give him a book on Defence or any of their school subjects or even Quidditch so he was completely at loss as to what kind of book Draco would possibly get him.

When it turned out to be a fairy tale book he was stunned into silence. Not only was the illustrated cover beautiful, it also had the initials DLM in the right bottom corner, indicating Draco had painted it himself. He carefully opened it, not wanting to do any damage to it.

“It’s beautiful,” he finally brought out when he saw some of the illustrations in the book and noticed that it wasn’t just Muggle but also Wizarding fairy tales. “Could you read one of the tales to me tonight?”

“Sure. But tonight. Now it’s time for you to open your last present. Well, technically there are two but they belong together in a way.”

 

The first of the two presents was even smaller than Draco’s dagger and was wrapped in plain black paper with a small white bow. Harry inspected it for a minute, trying to find out what it was. When he was unsuccessful he shrugged and carefully opened it. The box it contained looked suspiciously like it would be used for rings.

“You’re not proposing to me, right?” Harry asked a little hesitant.

“No. Not yet. Open it and I’ll tell you why I chose this.”

Inside the box was lined with white velvet upon which a plain black ring lay. Harry picked it up and turned it around in his hand. It was indeed completely black without any engravings.

“It’s a symbol,” Draco explained once Harry’s attention was back on him. “Some asexuals wear it to show that they’re well… asexual. You don’t have to wear it of course but I thought you might appreciate it.”

“I do.” Harry assured him. “Which finger do I put it on?”

“That depends,” Draco took both of Harry’s hands in his. “The left hand is closer to the heart so that’s where you usually wear your wedding ring. A ring worn on the left ring finger therefore symbolises a permanent relationship while a ring worn on the right hand is an indication of a temporary relationship. A ring worn on the middle finger symbolises permanently and temporarily single respectively. The other fingers have no special meaning as far as I know.”

With a smile Harry slid the ring of his left ring finger. Draco smiled, too when he saw it and pressed a small kiss to Harry’s temple. “I love you.”

Harry just blushed and went to open his final present.

It was a black shirt and he smiled brightly when he read what was printed on it.

“The world’s okayest asexual? Is this an asexual starter pack or something?” Harry asked and chuckled.

Draco smiled, He knew that Harry liked his presents; he was just overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness so he had to make a joke out of it. “Yeah, a starter pack.” He agreed. “To show you I love you like you are, just like you did with the dress and the hair clasp.”

“Thank you.” Harry said smiling. “It’s brilliant. I’ll wear it as often as I can.”

“I’m glad you like it. I’ll go put this on. I’ll be back in a bit.” Draco held up the dress.

“Alright.” Harry pulled Draco into another kiss and then let him leave.

 

When Draco came back about half an hour later he couldn’t help smiling brightly. Harry was already wearing the shirt he had gotten him and was curled up on the couch reading the fairy tale book.

“Hey, I thought that was my job.” Draco complained but smiled and sat down next to Harry.

Harry grinned sheepishly. “I couldn’t wait. Cinderella was my favourite fairy tale when I was a kid and I wanted to see the illustrations you did for the story. Besides, you were taking quite long.”

“I know. I wanted to look perfect.”

“But you always…” Harry protested until he looked up from the book and at Draco. “You look like… like a princess.” He finally brought out, completely mesmerized.

Draco blushed at the compliment. That was exactly what he had wanted to look like. Like a princess from one of the fairy tales in Harry’s book. “You really think so?”

“I do.” Harry confirmed. He put his book away and pulled Draco closer. “You look absolutely gorgeous.”

“Thank you.” Ever since Draco had started making the illustrations for the book he had wanted to look like one of the princesses and had tried and tried again to achieve the perfect princess look. Apparently all he had lacked was a dress like this. His other dresses were by no means ugly but they didn’t have this royal air the Copeland dress had.

“Do you want me to braid your hair?” Harry offered then. That was one shock too much for Draco and he just sat there stuttering like a broken record, not knowing what to say. Harry had learned how to braid hair just so he could style Draco’s. In a way that meant more to him than any material gift he had received in his life so far.

“I found a book on Wizarding hairstyles in the Hogwarts library a while ago.” Harry explained. He pulled Draco close and wrapped his arms around his waist. “I realized it was more than two centuries old so I wrote to Flourish & Blotts and asked for a newer edition. It was an interesting read, I wasn’t aware that most hairstyles, especially with long hair, convey a message. I even saw one that basically said: _mind your own business_.”

Harry’s subsequent chuckle awakened Draco from his stupor. “I want that one.” Draco declared then with a smile. He knew which hairstyle Harry was talking about. It was a bun fastened on top of the head with several small braids wound around it artfully. His mother had often worn it when she had to attend functions with his father.

“Alright! I’ll be back in a minute.” Harry announced and left the room. He came back shortly after, carrying a small bag. When he opened it Draco discovered that it was filled to the brink with hair accessories and other useful things like bobby pins and hair ties. In his other hand he held Draco’s brush. After some coordinating Harry sat behind Draco on the couch to brush and then braid his hair.

Once he had finished brushing, Harry parted the hair in three parts; the middle part with the most hair was for the bun and the two side parts for the small braids.

“How did you learn how to do this?” Draco asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Did you annoy the Gryffindor girls or how did you get practise?” Draco snickered at the thought of Harry braiding some girl’s hair in the Gryffindor common room.

“I used a doll.” Harry explained matter-of-factly but Draco could hear the smile in his voice. “Muggles have those doll heads that are about the size of a real head with artificial hair so children can practise how to style their hair. Why would you ask?”

“I just thought you could show me the hair styles when I don’t know what they will look like, before you style my hair.”

“Sure, I can do that.”

Once Harry was finished a few minutes later, he placed a small kiss in Draco’s neck and handed him a mirror.

Draco took the mirror and slowly raised his hand to his hair, careful not to disturb it, his eyes fixed to the mirror. “It’s perfect.” He breathed. “Thank you.”

“I’m glad you like it. It was the first one I practised and it took a long time to get it right. Did you know that when you…”

“…move around the braids a little it basically means _I want to fuck you into the mattress_? Yes, I knew that. My mother complained about it once.” Draco said with a bright grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The shirt Draco gives Harry for Christmas really exists asn you can find it at http://www.lookhuman.com/design/82681-world-s-okayest-asexual
> 
> Kudos and comments are lovely.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're finally done with Christmas *wipes forehead*. This chapter is kind of a wrap up of the rest of their holidays. I hope you still enjoy it.

The next morning it was time for them to celebrate Christmas with the Weasleys. Draco had managed to convince Harry they wouldn’t need to spend the night there. Even though they seemed to accept him as Harry’s partner he didn’t want to spend more time at their house than he absolutely had to.

They were both received with crushing hugs from Mrs Weasley. Draco was confused. He had expected indifference or even hostility, not this warm greeting. And it didn’t end there. They even had presents for him. He got an assortment of sweets and pranks from the joke shop from the younger Weasleys, a book on household spells from Bill and Fleur (he remembered her quite well from the Triwizard tournament) and a book on Dragons from Charlie. But his favourite present by far was the green knitted jumper with a big ‘D’ on the chest. Draco had seen similar jumpers worn by the Weasley children and Harry and he choked up as he realized that it was meant as an acceptation into the family.

He felt Harry comfort him almost before he realized tears were running down his cheeks, it was astounding how attuned to each other they were already. After a short cuddle session under the eyes of the whole Weasley family (he would’ve been humiliated had he no felt so safe in Harry’s arms), Draco dried his tears on Harry’s jumper and then, following the example of everyone else in the room, put on the gifted jumper.

It was very cosy and warm and he felt comforted and safe almost as well as he did in Harry’s arms. This sweater was clearly magic, and not the kind one could cast.

During the rest of their visit he wore a content smile and had his hands hidden in the sleeves of the jumper whenever possible for a little extra warmth, which earned him a fond smile from Harry. During the whole visit they tried to get as much physical contact as possible while still remaining polite to not strain the bond any further than necessary but they still decided to leave before lunch. They didn’t want to take any chances.

 

When they apparated home, they both took a deep, relieved breath as they entered their living room. The time at the Weasleys had put quite a strain on their bond despite all the precautions they had taken. To get it to settle again Harry got the fairy tale book from their bedroom and they spent the rest of the day cuddled up on the couch with blankets and tea, leafing through it and reading a few of the stories to each other.

They went to bed fairly early that night because they wanted to be well rested for the Quidditch game they would attend the next day. Even though Draco had booked the whole top box for them, giving them as much privacy and physical distance from the other people attending as possible, it would still strain their bond. The only thing they could do to prepare for that was to spent time with each other and to get enough sleep.

 

The next day they arrived early at the stadium to be able to slowly get used to the amount of people they would be surrounded with soon. Draco had decked Harry in merchandise from the Falmouth Falcons who would play against the Appleby Arrows. He had been a fan ever since his father had taken him to a game for his sixth birthday.

The game was rough and fast, so fascinating to look at that they barely had time to start feeling uncomfortable before the Snitch had been caught by the Falcon’s Seeker after almost three hours. The Falcons won with a formidable lead of 210 points. Harry and Draco left with bright smiles on their faces and Harry with a new team to root for. Despite their rather rude tactics he couldn’t help admiring the team’s skill on the pitch and he vowed to go to more of their matches with Draco in the future.

 

Their exhaustion only caught up with them when they were back home so Harry suggested they order pizza instead of making the effort to cook something. Being a Malfoy Draco had never had pizza before but trusted Harry’s decisions when it came to toppings. Well – at least a little. When Harry decided they would have chilli on their pizza he put in a veto. To his surprise Harry didn’t complain and just went along with his request.

Eating pizza was an interesting experience for Draco to put it lightly. Harry insisted they eat it with their hands which went against anything Draco had ever been taught. The pizza was greasy and he really didn’t want to touch it but as Harry had locked their entire cutlery away with a charm and taken his wand away as a precaution he didn’t have any other option than to eat with his hands. It felt weird and kind of rebellious to go against his upbringing like this but in the end he had to admit that it had been a fun experience to a smirking Harry. The only thing he really didn’t like on his pizza, he decided, was tuna. It just tasted gross like this and he had to eat a lot of Chocolate frogs to get rid of the taste in his mouth again.

 

After that day they fell into a relaxed routine, spending their time talking and cuddling inside with Lucifer at their feet or outside walking Lucifer or playing around with him in their Dragon forms. They were more than glad to finally have all the time they wanted to themselves, not having to worry about anyone but them and Lucifer of course. Not even Grace came over to meet them during that time.

 

“ _Happy New Year_ ,” Harry growled in Drakhan when the fireworks started painting the sky in every colour imaginable. They lay on the grass in their backyard, more than comfortable as Dragons and watched the fireworks of the New Year’s Eve celebrations in the distance.

“ _Happy New Year_ ,” Draco growled back and pressed his snout to Harry’s in a chaste kiss.

“ _What are your New Year’s resolutions?_ ” Harry asked once most of the colours had left the sky again.

Draco showed his sharp teeth in a slightly feral grin. “ _I don’t have resolutions, I only have plans._ ”

Harry smiled and licked the scales on Draco’s cheek with his split tongue. “ _Then what are your plans?_ ”

“ _I will come out to everyone…_ ” Draco mused, “ _In a very elaborate, over the top fashion. I will travel with you wherever you want to go after we graduated. I will at least pass all my NEWTs. I will spend my first Valentine’s Day with you. I really just want to spend the whole year with you and I don’t care that it sounds sappy._ ”

“ _Those are very humble, small plans, Draco_ ,” Harry grumbled amused.

Draco pouted as well as it was possible for a Dragon to do. “ _Small plans are for small people, Harry. And I am by no means small._ ”

“ _Right, you can’t be small, your ego is too big for that._ ”

“ _Git_ ,” Draco complained smiling. “ _What are your plans then? Or do you have_ resolutions _?”_

“ _They’re plans, definitely plans. First of all I want to graduate. I guess there will be a leaving ball so I want to go there with you of course. I just have to learn to dance first. I also want to teach you to cook the Muggle way and show you a few recipes I haven’t seen used in the Wizarding World so far._ ”

“ _I would like that. That pizza stuff we had the other day was quite enjoyable after all. Do you have any other plans relating my Muggle relations?_ ”

“ _I wanted to warm you up to the Muggle world in general. There are a few ingenious things Muggles invented I think will intrigue you._ ” Harry smiled brightly. Draco had changed a lot in the last few months, and not only his opinion on Muggles. Instead of hiding behind his clothes and letting them define him, he now defined the clothes he wore, making them express whatever he wanted them to and while the announcement that Draco planned to come out had startled Harry a little he could only support it wholeheartedly.

“ _That sounds lovely_ ,” Draco agreed, bringing Harry out of his musings.

“ _There are two more things I want to do this year…_ ” Harry continued with a smile. “ _I’d like to get a pet snake and I want to open up to you completely._ ”

The smile Draco showed at that was bright and happy by Dragon standards. “ _Thank you_ ,” he breathed, almost too quiet for Harry to hear but he did and smiled in return.

They went to sleep soon after, curled around each other and not bothered by the cold that was held off by their scales and their fiery insides.

 

Too soon it was time for them to return to Hogwarts again. The hardest part of leaving was taking Lucifer back to Malfoy Manor. They had gotten used to his presence and Lucifer didn’t seem to want to part with them either. He howled and yowled terribly when they turned around to leave. Draco turned around again when he heard it and it broke his heart to see his dog like that. Without even thinking about it he went back and fell to his knees in front of Lucifer, wrapping his arms around him.

“I can’t leave you here,” he whispered into the black fur.

Harry looked back confused when the howling suddenly stopped. He smiled when he saw Draco crouching next to Lucifer and decided to join them on the floor.

“We have to take him with us,” Draco said decisively once he felt Harry’s hand on his back. “I need him close in the next few months. We have our own rooms so he can stay there whenever we have classes.”

“It’s alright, Draco. You don’t need to convince me. I’ve grown quite attached to Lucifer as well. It’s Professor McGonagall we need to convince. I doubt she’ll be accepting of him, considering she’s a cat Animagus.”

The smile that had appeared on Draco’s face when Harry had started talking had disappeared again by the time he had finished.

“You’re right…” he admitted. “McGonagall would never allow it. We already have our own rooms, we shouldn’t push her generosity. It’s just… we need to study for NEWTs now and I doubt we have time to come over every other weekend. I’ll miss him a lot.”

“I will too,” Harry assured him and pulled both Draco and Lucifer into a tight hug. “But we’ll really have to go now or we’ll miss the train.”

“Maybe that was my goal,” Draco chuckled.

“I definitely wouldn’t put it past you. Malfoys always get what they want, after all.”

“Exactly,” Draco confirmed but still got up and walked over to the gates of Malfoy Manor to give Lucifer over to his mother who had watched the whole scene silently.

“Take good care of yourself and of Lucifer, Mother,” he said to her. “I love you.”

“I will,” she promised. “I love you, too, my Dragon.”

After Harry, too, had said his goodbyes they apparated to the station with only five minutes to spare and hurried to find an empty compartment. It took quite some time as only a small part of the student body had stayed at Hogwarts over the holidays. They finally sat with Luna in a compartment near the back of the train and talked about their holidays for a while and spent the rest of the train ride in comfortable silence.

Luna really was the only person they were comfortable being around for long periods of time. Draco guessed it had to do with the prophecy Grace had told them about and that she was supposed to be their medium. If what she had told them was even accurate. To Draco it felt like she had left out a lot. Otherwise that would’ve been a way too dramatic reaction upon finding out that they were Dragon Child and Drakhono. He resolved to talk about it with Harry once they were back in their rooms that night. He just hadn’t told him about his suspicions yet because he had banned those thoughts into the back of his mind over the holidays.

But when they were finally alone in their rooms later that night, Draco almost fell asleep standing and resolved to talk about it with Harry the next day. He really didn’t want to have that particular question while half asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism as well as general comments and Kudos are very appreciated.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has taken me ages to write this and it's not very long but I hope you still like it.

“Harry? I want to talk to you about something,” Draco announced when they were back in their rooms after classes the next day.

Harry detected the slight worry in his eyes and knew instantly that it was something serious. “What is it?”

Draco sat down on the couch and motioned for Harry to join him before he spoke again. Once he had, Draco answered his question with another question.

“Do you remember what Grace told us about the prophecy?”

“I do,” Harry confirmed. “It was strange, don’t you think? She calmed down so easily after we reassured her she wouldn’t need to follow us at all times.”

“Exactly,” Draco said, amazed that Harry had just voiced his own thoughts. “In hindsight it seems like a poorly concealed lie. From the panic she was in at first I’d say there’s something big she’s keeping from us. Maybe someone has to die. Maybe it’s either her or us and she wants to have an advantage over us.” It hurt Draco a little to think about her like that but his Slytherin instincts told him his thoughts went into the right direction.

“Do you think the prophecy might be in the diary of the Dragon Child?”

“No. I sometimes feel like my bookmark shifts during the night so that I find information we need faster. I think if the prophecy was really in there the diary would’ve shown us already.” Draco explained, looking a little defeated.

Deciding they wouldn’t be able to do anything while they were still in school, they decided to concentrate on their NEWT studies for now and confront Grace about the prophecy when they left after their graduation. They would notice if she were here with malicious intent just like they had with Dogan.

 

The next Saturday held a pleasant surprise for Harry and Draco. They were sitting in their room, immersed in their assigned Potions essay when there was a knock on the door to their rooms. Draco looked up confused. After sharing a short look with an equally confused Harry he got up to open the door.  
He had barely opened it when he was shoved back inside the room by a mass of black fur pouncing on him. From the doorway he heard his mother’s laugh.

“Lucifer?” Harry gasped when he turned around to find out what had made Draco fall to the floor.

Upon hearing his name Lucifer jumped off Draco and onto Harry’s lap instead. He was way too big to be a lapdog but he didn’t seem to care and proceeded to cut off the circulation in Harry’s legs. “Hey buddy!” Harry greeted him and tousled his fur. “What are you doing here?”

“I asked Headmistress McGonagall if I could bring him here for the weekends as you won’t have time to see him otherwise,” Narcissa explained once she had entered their rooms as well.

Draco had gotten up again already and went to hug his mother before leading her to the couch to sit down.

“Can I get you anything, mother? A drink? Something to eat?”

“I’m fine,” Narcissa insisted. “Sit down, Draco, and relax.”

Draco did sit down but he couldn’t relax. There had to be another reason for her to meet them than bringing Lucifer to see them. His mother wasn’t one for social visits and she too had been a Slytherin after all.

“Actually, Draco could you make us some tea?” Harry intervened, noticing Draco’s nervousness. He knew that the five minutes it took to make tea would be ideal for Draco to calm down a little and to get used to the fact that his mother visited them at Hogwarts.

Draco smiled gratefully and got up again. With slightly shaky legs he disappeared behind the small part of the wall separating the kitchen from the rest of the room. Once there he took a deep breath and started the calming routine of preparing tea.

Thoughts were still running haywire in his mind. Did she know about him being non-binary? If so, how did she find out? He had never stored any of his dresses in his rooms at Malfoy Manor and when they had been at Andromeda’s for Christmas his glamour hadn’t slipped. Or maybe it had. He was so anxious he couldn’t even be sure anymore.

He only calmed down when he felt Harry’s reassuring presence at his back.

“Everything’s okay,” Harry promised in a calm reassuring voice. Draco slowly continued to prepare the tea while Harry comforted him further by stroking his sides. “I think she suspects something but she assured me you won’t have to tell her anything you aren’t comfortable sharing with her.”

“Did she sound disappointed?” Draco asked tentatively, filling two cups with hot tea before adding milk and sugar.

“A little,” Harry confirmed. “But I’m sure she won’t hold it against you, should you choose not to tell her yet. She loves you very much.”

“Why is she here, then?”

“She wants to see us. Apparently she isn’t really comfortable with us being here after everything that happened with Dogan after Halloween.”

“That’s understandable I think. Before Christmas we visited her every other weekend so she could make sure we were alright then, but now we can’t really leave anymore so she’s coming here.” The tension slowly left Draco’s body. He believed Harry when he said there was nothing to be worried about.

“Exactly,” Harry agreed.

“Do you think I should tell her?”

“It’s your decision, Draco. But whatever you decide, I will always support you.” Harry leaned around and pressed a kiss to Draco’s cheek.

“Thank you, Harry.” Draco turned around and kissed Harry properly. “But I think the tea is ready now.”

Harry smiled at him and with their hands clasped they went back into the living room, getting comfortable on the loveseat opposite from Narcissa. Lucifer – Draco had no idea how Harry had gotten him to get off his lap – jumped up on the loveseat as well and lay down across both their laps comfortably.

 

A few hours later Narcissa took Lucifer back to the manor. Draco hadn’t come out to her but he did at least feel a little better about the situation as she hadn’t pressured him into telling her even though she knew something was up.

As soon as the portrait closed behind her, Draco fell into Harry’s arms. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said with his face pressed against Harry’s neck.

Harry smiled. “You’re welcome. I did tell you I’d always be there for you.”

“I know. Still. I couldn’t have kept calm without you reassuring me and being there. So thank you for everything you did today. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Harry replied and hugged Draco a little tighter.

Draco smiled into Harry’s neck and silently vowed to himself to never doubt Harry’s loyalty again because, if he was honest with himself, he had done that when he had been alone in the kitchenette. Harry had proven often enough now that he would always be on Draco’s side, no matter what happened and he more than deserved Draco’s trust.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably edit this a little more tomorrow but you've waited for this too long already as it is. I hope you like it and nothing is too unrealistic. It took me forever to write that last scene.

Despite the massive workload they had, Draco still managed to read the Dragon Child’s diary for some time before going to sleep. It was a few days after his mother’s first visit (as he was positive she would visit them every weekend from now on) when he found something interesting.

“Harry?” he enquired with a soft voice. They had never really labelled their relationship as it wasn’t really an ordinary relationship. The conventional labels just weren’t accurate. Now that he had found an – in his eyes – fitting term to replace the dreaded ‘boyfriend’ he just hoped Harry wouldn’t object to it.

“Yes?” Harry asked back. Draco could see though that he was on the verge of falling asleep. This week’s potions essay had included harvesting a few ingredients from the Forbidden Forest (apparently it wasn’t as forbidden when it could be used to teach) and it had taken them almost the whole afternoon after classes to collect them. Harry hadn’t even complained about it since he knew they would get the next assignment soon enough and it was better to have the Potions one out of the way with plenty of time to spare. It was understandable that he was exhausted now, especially when Draco thought about what else had happened in that forest. He still had to ask him now, though. He wasn’t sure he would be able to sleep otherwise.

“Would you be my Alyran?” he asked carefully.

Harry’s head snapped up at the sound of the foreign word. “I’m sorry, your what?”

“Alyran. It’s a Drakhan term describing one’s partner in an exclusively platonic and romantic relationship,” Draco explained patiently. He had found the term in a chart with untranslatable Drakhan words and fallen in love with it.

“Alyran,” Harry tried the word. Draco smiled at how easily it seemed to roll off his tongue. “I like it. It fits perfectly for us.”

Draco sighed relieved. Harry noticed it and raised an eyebrow in his direction, copying Draco’s own habit.

With a second sigh, Draco explained. “We never really had anything to describe our relationship with other than ‘we’re a couple’ and it bothered me a little to be honest. It always felt so awkward to tell people we were _partners_.” Draco sneered. “You can’t get less intimate than that. And while people will be confused by the term Alyran, we have a term to describe our relationship now and somehow that makes me feel very warm.”

Harry turned around to face Draco fully with a bright smile on his face. “It makes me feel warm, too. I love you so much, my Alyran,” Harry said coyly and pulled Draco into a gentle kiss.

Draco smiled into their kiss. He was a little surprised but mostly glad about Harry’s easy acceptance. Maybe he had needed this as much as Draco had.

 

Like most of the time, Draco was the first to wake the next day and he couldn’t help but wonder if Harry even remembered their conversation. After all, he had looked and sounded half asleep already when Draco had brought it up.

He hoped Harry did as it still made him feel warm whenever he thought about their conversation and the following kiss.

Harry started shifting then, announcing to Draco he was on the verge of waking up. Draco didn’t want to show his insecurity concerning their late night talk so he simply wished Harry a good morning, smiling fondly at his ruffled state, and hoped he wouldn’t notice anything off.

“Good morning, Alyran,” Harry replied sleepily.

It was quite a feat for Draco to keep his jaw from falling down then. Harry had used the word with so much ease and without any prompting, it was like he had known it for years and had always addressed Draco as such.

“I love you, Alyran. Do you know that?” Draco asked his voice now conveying what he felt.

“I do,” Harry affirmed and kissed Draco sweetly. “I love you, too, Alyran.”

 

Over the course of the next week Harry used Alyran as often as possible, not really paying attention whether or not there were other people around. Draco used it too, of course; after all he had been the one to discover it, but by far not as often as Harry did. He wouldn’t complain though. It always made him feel loved whenever he heard it from Harry’s lips and it also had the added effect of confusing everyone else as they refused to explain the meaning.

With this new affirmation of Harry’s love he was also convinced it was finally time to come out to his mother. He had known since they had first discussed it that Harry wouldn’t ever leave him because of his gender but for some reason he had needed another reaffirmation of that to finally tell his mother.

 

He told Harry about his plans a few hours after his mother had left that Saturday.

“Alright,” Harry said and pecked Draco on the lips.

“Alright?” Draco asked surprised and a little hurt. “No ‘it’s about time’ or ‘I’m proud of you’?”

“Of course I’m proud of you. I thought you knew that already,” Harry hurried to assure him. “And there’s no time limit to coming out. Just come out to your mother or anyone else when you feel comfortable.”

“I know. Fuck, I’ve been through this shit several times already, of course I know,” Draco snapped. “It’s just… I’m still scared,” he added, sounding defeated.

“It’s alright to be scared, love,” Harry soothed, hugging Draco tightly. “I won’t claim to know what it’s like but if I can help you in any way, please tell me.”

“Thank you,” Draco whispered. “You just have to be there with me. That’s enough. Stay with me and…” Draco hesitated for long seconds, “Do you think we could invite Andromeda as well next Saturday? I think I won’t be as tense if Teddy is there.”

“Sure. Just send her an owl. I’ll make us some tea in the meantime.”

“Thanks,” Draco sighed. “And Harry?”

“Yes?”

“Would you put some lemon in my tea?”

Harry smiled fondly and gave Draco a short kiss. “Consider it done.”

 

The following Saturday Draco was a nervous mess once again. All the doubts he’d had the last time he had wanted to come out to his mother had resurfaced. He was still determined to go through with it, though that didn’t make it easier. Even Harry, who usually knew what to do to make him feel better, had trouble calming him down.

“Draco,” he tried again. He had wrapped Draco in a tight hug and stroked his back in slow, soothing circles. “Your mother loves you. She lied to Voldemort about me being dead because I told her you were still alive. She loves you with all her heart. I’m pretty sure she won’t reject you.”

“You can’t know that. What if she does?”

“Then you’ll still have Andromeda, Teddy and me,” Harry said confidently. Strangely the kiss he then pressed to Draco’s forehead calmed Draco more than anything in the last hour had.

“I know I’ll have you,” Draco allowed. “But how can you be so sure about Andromeda and Teddy?”

“Teddy loves you no matter what. And Tonks, Andromeda’s child, was non-binary, too, and Andromeda accepted them with open arms after they came out. I think you have nothing to worry about when it comes to them.”

“I had no idea…” Draco breathed, a small smile gracing his lips. For some reason it made him a little less nervous to know his cousin had been non-binary as well.

“It wasn’t widely known. I think they only ever told Remus and their mother. Even I didn’t know until Andromeda told me during the summer.”

Draco nodded. Harry had told him he had spent a lot of time with Andromeda and Teddy after the war and he and Andromeda had talked a lot during that time.

“Do you feel better now?” Harry asked concerned.

“Yes. Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Harry replied and kissed Draco one last time before there was a knock on the door.

A little bit of anxiety crept back into Draco’s mind but it evaporated again when he met Harry’s encouraging gaze.

“You can do this,” he said and squeezed Draco’s hands. Draco smiled at him gratefully and went to get the door.

 

It was Andromeda who had knocked, carrying Teddy on her hip.

“Draco!” she exclaimed. “It’s good to see you again.” She gave him a one-armed but still tight hug and kissed his cheek.

“It’s good to see you, too, Andromeda,” he replied politely, a little bit overwhelmed by her greeting.

They had just sat down on the couches while Harry was in the kitchen preparing tea, when there was another knock on the door. Draco went to open it; carrying Teddy on his hip who had latched onto him as soon as possible after Andromeda had entered the room. Draco suspected he had somehow noticed how tense he was and wanted to comfort him as well as he could as an infant.

To his surprise he wasn’t floored by an oversized ball of black fur when he opened the door. Instead Lucifer approached him carefully and sniffed out first him and then Teddy, before deciding that Teddy wasn’t a threat for Draco and licking his outstretched hand. Before Teddy could stick his hand back into his mouth, Draco took it and spelled it clean again.

Narcissa followed after Lucifer and greeted Draco with a short hug and a kiss to his cheek.

“Andromeda is here as well?” she wondered.

“Yes, there’s something I want to tell you,” Draco told her. He could see in her face that she knew what he wanted to tell them had at least partly to do with how he had reacted to her first visit. She seemed to be a little disgruntled, probably because he had also invited Andromeda. He had discussed this possibility with Harry and Harry had insisted and finally convinced Draco that his comfort was more important in this situation than his mother’s ego. Draco had realized then that he had needed this, someone who put him and his needs first, no matter who might be unhappy with those decisions or how much damage control they would have to do in the aftermath. “Why don’t we sit down and just get straight to the matter?”

Draco led his mother over to the couches where she sat down next to Andromeda. Draco got comfortable next to Harry who had just finished the tea and was now petting Lucifer. Once he had sat down Lucifer stretched out to lay across both their laps, careful not to jostle Teddy who was still perched on Draco’s hip.

Draco took Harry’s hand and let his scales appear before he simply blurted it out.

“I’m non-binary.”

Andromeda looked a little shocked but soon smiled while Narcissa simply looked confused.

When no further reaction was forthcoming from her sister Andromeda got up and hurried over to Draco to give him a crushing hug. Draco was once again surprised by the affection she was showing him.

“I’m so proud of you for coming out,” she told him. “But you should better explain to your mother a little more what you mean to tell her.”

“I’ll try. But it’s so natural to me by now; I’m not sure where to start.”

“The beginning is usually a good place to start,” Andromeda said with a teasing undertone. Then she kissed Draco’s forehead and went to sit next to Narcissa again.

Draco took a deep breath and tried to explain. “I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed it, mother, but as long as I can remember I’ve been jealous of girls’ dresses. Sometimes I wanted to wear a dress, too, and other times I wanted to be a girl. But with father’s influence I didn’t have much choice in that matter other than being a boy, wearing boy’s clothes and pretending that everything was alright. Once he was in Azkaban though, I felt free to do what I wanted to for the first time in my life and so I bought my first dress. I found out that it was nice to wear a dress occasionally even though I never showed anyone, and to be a girl every once in a while. That’s what being non-binary is to me. Sometimes I’m a girl and other times I’m a boy and the clothes I wear don’t always coincide with that. Today for example, I’m a boy but I felt like wearing a dress. I only put a Glamour over it so I wouldn’t overwhelm you.”

Once Draco was done he chanced a look at his mother. She looked overwhelmed now instead of confused. He wasn’t sure whether that was better.

Like so often, Harry noticed he was uncomfortable and pulled him closer. He located a patch of scales on Draco’s elbow and started caressing them to reassure him further. Teddy had noticed the tense atmosphere as well and buried his head in Draco’s neck. Draco wasn’t sure whether it was to hide or to give comfort but it did indeed comfort him.

“Would you show us your dress, Draco?” Andromeda prompted before the silence could get too uncomfortable. Draco shot her a grateful smile. He handed Teddy over to Harry with some difficulties and stood up before he cancelled the Dragon glamour covering his whole body.

Narcissa gasped when she saw Draco’s clothes change and his hair lengthen.

“You’re beautiful, Dragon,” she brought out. Draco showed her a tentative smile.

“Do you still love me?” he asked in a small voice.

“Of course I love you, Draco. I could never stop loving you. This will take some getting used to but I will never abandon you.”

Draco felt tears of happiness building in his eyes while he went over to his mother and basically collapsed in her lap. “I love you, too, mom.”

His mother pulled him closer until he was pressed snugly against her front and started caressing his hair, like she had done when he was a kid and it was the only way to calm him when he was upset.

It felt good to be in his mother’s arms again for the first time in years and he clung to her like his life depended on it. It did in a way. He didn’t know how to cope with it had she reacted negatively. Right now, while her reaction hadn’t been exactly the most positive she had at least promised not to leave him.

“Draco,” his mother’s voice brought him out of his daze again a few minutes later. “I think Teddy wants back to you.”

Draco smiled. It seemed his mother had also accepted Andromeda’s presence. He turned in her lap and held his hands out for Harry to hand him Teddy. Harry smiled brightly when he placed Teddy in Draco’s arms and gave them both a kiss on the forehead before returning to his seat.

Draco sighed relieved. He was more than happy with the outcome of his coming out. All the people who were the most important to him were there and accepted him like he was. Now the next hurdle would be to come out to everyone else and he already had an elaborate occasion for that in mind.


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a chapter that I didn't finish in the dead of night :D. I'm sorry it took so long. After writing a third of it I first had no ideas, then no motivation and then a very demanding internship at a bookstore. I'll try to have the next chapter up in less than a month.

It seemed like no time at all had passed with the way the days blurred together while they were studying for their NEWTs when Harry woke up on Valentine’s Day a few weeks later. Draco had already been up for a while judging by the cooled sheets next to Harry. The sight on his nightstand made Harry smile though.

In a crystal vase stood ten roses in various colours. Harry was now glad he had read the marked part of the Guide to Flower Symbolism Draco had discreetly placed on his table in the library a few days ago. If he remembered correctly the single white rose symbolized Innocence, the three cream coloured ones appreciation and the two red, peach and yellow roses romance, gratitude and friendship respectively. Valentine’s Day, just like Christmas seemed to bring out Draco’s thoughtfulness and his talent for romantic actions even more than usual.

Harry took one of the red roses and left the bedroom to find out where Draco had disappeared to. He was a little disappointed he didn’t get to wake up next to Draco on Valentine’s Day, but could instantly forgive him when he heard the sound of fat sizzling in a pan coming from the kitchenette. He hurried to join Draco there and wound his arms around Draco’s hips in a tight embrace. Draco flinched a little but relaxed again after a moment.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, my Alyran,” Harry whispered and kissed Draco’s neck.

“Happy Valentine’s Day to you, too, my Alyran,” Draco replied and leaned back into Harry’s arms.

“Do you have any specific plans for today?” Harry asked while he placed small kisses on Draco’s neck.

“Not really. I just want to spend time with you without any books or parchment in sight.”

Harry smiled. He had looked forward to Valentine’s Day, true, but he was glad they were going to keep it simple. “Sounds brilliant.”

 

Ten minutes later they lay comfortably in bed again cuddled up beneath the blankets with their breakfast on a tray across both their laps.

While Draco had finished making breakfast Harry had braided the rose he had brought with him into Draco’s hair. Draco liked it a lot, especially the contrast between the red and green of the rose and his pale hair.

“Mhhmm… Draco, this is divine…” Harry hummed contentedly with a big smile on his face.

“Thank you,” Draco pressed a small kiss to Harry’s neck, more than glad they finally had some free time again. “This is our first Valentine’s Day together and considering how busy we currently are I wanted to make this as relaxing and enjoyable as possible. We deserve a break this weekend.”

“If Hermione knew you’re not making me study today she’d be very disappointed, Draco.” Harry sounded accusing but Draco could hear the teasing behind it.

“Well, she studies for the sake of studying. Studying makes her happy because she gets to learn new things. But we’re only studying to do better in our NEWTs so I think we deserve to do what _we_ like every once in a while. To be honest, I think she should be glad I made breakfast for us and not just asked the house elves to bring us our favourites.”

Harry smiled fondly. He liked that Draco had this all thought out. “It’s alright. I was just joking. There’s no need to justify your actions. Let’s just enjoy today without thinking about others.”

“I know you were. I’m sorry. I just don’t share most of her world views,” Draco explained.

“I’m kind of glad you don’t,” Harry said with a cheeky smile and kissed Draco’s cheek.”I couldn’t take two Hermiones.”

“Urgh!” Draco exclaimed. He looked horrified. “Don’t put those pictures in my head! I don’t want frizzy hair… I will have nightmares about waking up with a bush as hair for weeks now!” Draco carefully touched his hair to make sure his nightmare hadn’t come true yet. He sighed when he had assured himself his hair was as straight as it should be.

“Drama queen,” Harry whispered and pulled Draco into a kiss.

 

When they got too restless to stay in bed they went for a lazy stroll around the Black Lake. Draco had put on his Copeland dress underneath his long cloak and was glad for the warming charms woven into it as it was still quite cold despite being sunny.

“Could we visit Hagrid while we’re already outside?” Harry asked hesitantly after a few minutes of comfortable silence. He knew Draco didn’t like Hagrid much but Harry hadn’t visited him outside of class since the beginning of the school year. He wanted Hagrid to know what was going on in his life beyond the superficial that they had announced publicly.

“We can go but… not today,” Draco decided. Harry looked a little disappointed until he explained further.

“You said this morning that today we would just enjoy ourselves and not think about others for once. We can go tomorrow. To be honest I want to apologize for what happened in Third Year.”

“You do?” Harry was a little surprised. He had thought Draco had long since forgotten about the incident.

“I do. My father told me to do something to discredit Hagrid as our teacher because we couldn’t make him stop teaching just because he’s only half-wizard. I regretted it the moment I got a letter from my father telling me he wanted the Hippogriff executed. I didn’t want it to die but I couldn’t convince my father.”

Harry stopped Draco with a hand to his chest when he saw the guilt on his face. Draco looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“What?” he asked.

“Buckbeak wasn’t executed,” Harry mentioned almost casually and had to smile as he saw Draco’s eyes widen. “Hermione and I saved him.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?” Draco offered.

“Not really…” Harry admitted. No matter how happy he had been to find out his godfather was innocent, those memories were now tainted by his death and he didn’t want to think about that on Valentine’s Day. “Not today at least. I don’t want to ruin our day with painful memories.”

“Okay,” Draco agreed and hugged him tightly. “I’ll always be here to listen if you want to tell me.”

With a slight smile on his face, Harry hugged him back just as tightly. “Thank you, Draco, for being there for me and not pushing me to tell you about the past. I love you.”

Draco kissed Harry’s forehead gently. “I love you too.”

 

When they went back to the castle around lunchtime they decided to join the rest of the school in the Great Hall instead of hiding away in their rooms again. They went back there however for Draco to change into slacks and a button down shirt. He was already planning his coming out and he didn’t want to wear a dress in public before that, not even under a Glamour.

In the Great Hall the House Tables had disappeared and in their stead stood more than a hundred tables seating up to six people. Some tables were already occupied by love-struck couples and small friend groups. Harry noticed several inter-house couples and groups and couldn’t help smiling. They had come a long way since he had first set foot on the Hogwarts Express more than eight years ago.

Luna waved them over to a table where she was already sitting with Neville and Ginny. Harry and Draco acknowledged her with waves and small smiles but sat down at a table for two standing close by.

Two menus appeared next to their plates once they had sat down. Draco looked a little nauseous at the kitschy design of them, making Harry smile fondly.

“Let’s just hope the food isn’t coloured red or pink,” he joked.

“If it is, I will kill all of Hogwarts’ house elves singlehandedly,” Draco threatened with a serious look on his face.

Harry knew Draco would probably never kill anyone, not even a house elf, but it wouldn’t hurt to take some precautions.

“Winky!” he called out.

A second later there was a _pop_ and the house elf appeared next to him.

“What can Winky do for Master Potter?” Harry still didn’t like being called Master but he let it slide to not start an argument about it when he wanted to ask for a favour.

“Were the house elves ordered to colour the food for today’s lunch?” he enquired.

“Yes, Master Potter,” Winky answered eagerly. “The house elves is being ordered to colour the food red and pink.”

Harry looked up to see Draco’s reaction and saw him frown.

“In that case, could you make sure Draco’s and my food keeps its natural colour?”

Winky nodded enthusiastically. “Of course, Master Potter, Master Malfoy; Winky will tell the other house elves immediately.”

Harry barely had time to thank her before she disappeared to the kitchens again with a second _pop_.

Harry looked up again when he heard Draco chuckle. When their eyes met Draco stopped and just smiled.

“I love you,” he simply stated.

Harry smiled back. “I love you, too, but I still wouldn’t put house elf genocide past you,” he teased.

“Hey!” Draco complained, still smiling. “It wouldn’t be genocide; I wanted to kill only the _Hogwarts_ house elves, not the whole race.

“Details…” Harry brushed it off casually and they broke out in laughter.

They were still quietly chuckling when they picked up their menus to decide which not-red-and-pink meal they wanted.

 

After lunch they went back to their rooms to relax in private as spending time around other people still tended to drain them. Draco offered to play piano again and Harry happily agreed. He loved hearing Draco play. Before that he hadn’t had any real interest in music (the only music he had heard before that had been Celestina Warbeck and some hip-hop songs when his cousin had turned the volume up too high) but now he loved to just listen to and enjoy the sounds of the piano.

Instead of sitting next to Draco on a second stool he transformed into his tiger Animagus and curled up at Draco’s feet. Draco smiled and petted his head before he started to play. Three pieces later Draco ended his impromptu concert and slid down from his stool to cuddle with Harry while he was in his Animagus form. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed that until he had buried his hands in Harry’s mane and curled around Harry in a full body hug. Cuddling with Harry when he was human was great, flying with him in their Dragon forms was freeing but cuddling with a tiger was a whole new level of amazing. Harry was just so soft and warm like this and Draco felt perfectly protected.

“ _Are you comfortable?_ ” Harry asked in Drakhan because while he could still understand English as a tiger he couldn’t speak it and Draco wouldn’t be able to understand the tiger’s growling.

“ _Yes, very_ ,” Draco assured him, also slipping into Drakhan. There were times when it rolled off his tongue way easier than English.

 

“Do you want me to read another fairy tale to you?” Draco asked. They were comfortably lounging on their bed, having just finished their dinner.

“I might fall asleep if you do,” Harry pointed out in a slightly sleepy voice. Dinner had been filling and having a full stomach had always made him tired.

“Are the fairy tales that boring?” Draco teased. Compared to Harry he still sounded very much awake.

“No, your reading voice is simply that relaxing.”

Draco chuckled and lazily slid his fingers through Harry’s hair. Harry let out an almost-purr when Draco started to gently scratch his scalp.

“Well, in that case, I don’t mind. _Accio_ Fairy Tale book,” Draco intoned and the book zoomed right into his hands from the shelf on the opposite wall.

Harry snuggled into Draco’s side and yawned. “Can you read Snow White?”

Draco smiled fondly at Harry and kissed his forehead. “Whatever you wish for, my Alyran.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are lovely. Please tell me if there's anything you'd like to read about before they leave Hogwarts.


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, it didn't take a month, just like I said! Most of this I actually wrote the day this story reached 1000 Kudos, for some reason that was a big inspiration so thanks for everyone who gave Kudos on this story, you rock!

Harry had indeed fallen asleep to the sound of Draco’s voice reading Snow White to him and as a consequence he woke up before the crack of dawn the next day. Draco was still fast asleep next to him, his arms wrapped tightly around Harry’s middle. In the darkness of the night, Draco’s hair seemed to glow and Harry couldn’t help smiling. Draco was beyond beautiful when he was asleep and Harry couldn’t help but marvel the fact that Draco was interested in _him_ of all people, loving him with all of his flaws.

Harry knew he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again so he carefully disentangled himself from Draco’s embrace. Draco whined for a second about the loss of warmth but then he curled up in the spot where Harry had lain and went silent again. Harry pulled the covers to Draco’s chin and kissed his forehead gently before he stepped away from the bed and walked over to the window to do some stargazing. He found that in the early morning hours the stars looked very different to the way they looked in the middle of the night, even though he knew it were technically the same stars. The early morning had always held a special magic for him.

“Harry.”

Harry had been lost in thought, remembering the first time he had met Hagrid, when Draco called him. He got up from the floor and joined Draco in their bed again.

“What is it, Draco?” he asked gently and pushed some hairs out of Draco’s sleep-heavy eyes.

“Nothin’... I was jus’ cold,” Draco mumbled and snuggled closer to Harry. Harry smiled fondly at him. How Draco got cold so easily he didn’t understand. He was a Dragon, weren’t they supposed to be always warm?

With a sigh he picked up the fairy tale book from his nightstand. Maybe he could read a little by the light of his wand until Draco was fully awake.

 

After lunch they made their way over to Hagrid’s hut. During breakfast Harry had asked him when they could come over and Hagrid had been so happy Harry wanted to visit him that he didn’t even bat an eye when Harry told him Draco would come too.

A few yards from the small hut, Draco held Harry back.

“What if he doesn’t accept my apology?” he asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

“He will accept it,” Harry tried to assure him in a calm voice. He was a little anxious about Hagrid’s reaction as well but he would do his best to hide it so Draco wouldn’t notice. “Hagrid isn’t one to hold grudges. And if he can’t forgive you, we’ll just leave again. You were thirteen and just wanted to make your father proud, you changed so much since then, you deserve to be forgiven.”

Draco smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of Harry’s face. “You’re nervous, too. I can see it in your eyes. I’m really grateful you still try to make me feel better about this.”

Well, that didn’t exactly work out according to plan. Draco was simply too observant for his own good sometimes. Harry still smiled and pulled Draco into a short kiss.

“Let’s do this!”

 

“…however, I wanted to apologize for what I did back then. I was young and wanted to make my father proud but that doesn’t excuse my actions,” Draco finished, his eyes fixed on his lap so he wouldn’t have to look at Hagrid. He felt one of Harry’s hands slip into his and gripped it tightly for comfort.

 

Hagrid was speechless. He knew Malfoy had changed a lot after the war, if he hadn’t he was sure Harry wouldn’t have befriended him but he still hadn’t expected him to apologize for his behaviour in their Third Year.

“Malfoy,” Hagrid hesitated for a second and then corrected himself. “Draco. I forgive you.”

Draco slowly looked up from his lap, eyes wide in surprise. “Thank you,” he breathed.

 

Ten minutes later they stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and Buckbeak slowly approached them from among the trees. When he stopped in front of Draco, Draco bowed low, never breaking eye contact with the Hippogriff. After long seconds Buckbeak bowed as well. Draco slowly took a step forward and stretched out his hand. Buckbeak closed the distance between them and gently pressed his beak to Draco’s hand. A smile stretched over Draco’s face and he slowly began petting first the beak and when he was sure Buckbeak wouldn’t hurt him, also his head.

“You’re such a beautiful creature,” he cooed. “I’m so sorry for insulting you.” The croon Buckbeak let out in response sounded forgiving. He took another step forward to put his head on Draco’s shoulder and let Draco’s arms slip down his neck.

Draco marvelled at how soft Buckbeak’s feathers felt underneath his hands. They even rivalled Harry’s tiger fur in softness.

“Draco?” Hagrid’s voice jarred him out of his bliss. “Do you want to take a ride?”

Draco shook his head, his forehead brushing Buckbeak’s coat. “I’d rather not but thanks for the offer.”

When Draco finally found it in him to part with Buckbeak again they went back to Hagrid’s hut so Harry could finally catch him up on everything that had happened to him since October.

“How much do you know about Dragon children, Hagrid?” Harry asked with a small smile when they were back inside sitting around the table.

“Ter be honest Harry, not all tha’ much. They’re very rare, secretive creatures, they are. But I remember ye telling the school abou’ Draco here bein’ the new Dragon Child.”

“He is,” Harry confirmed, “and I am his Drakhono, his companion.”

Harry continued to tell Hagrid about a few of their discoveries. They had agreed beforehand to keep as much secret as possible, surely there was a reason why the previous Dragon Children had been so secretive about it all. When their conversation came to an end, Harry looked at Draco questioningly. Draco nodded, making Harry smile.

“There’s something I’d like to show you, Hagrid.”

 

Together they went outside again and into the Forbidden Forest, to the clearing where Draco and Harry transformed every day. Harry walked to the centre of the clearing while Draco kept Hagrid at the entrance.

Harry closed his eyes for a second to concentrate and transformed into a Dragon. He smiled satisfied with all his teeth on display when he heard Hagrid gasp.

“A Dragon… Harry… You’re magnificent…” Hagrid stammered to both Harry’s and Draco’s amusement.

Draco loosened his grip on Hagrid’s shoulder who instantly hurried forward to embrace Harry in his Dragon form.

“You’re so beautiful, Harry,” Hagrid breathed and Harry could see tears rolling down his face. He rubbed his scaly face on Hagrid’s head to give some comfort.

When they went to leave a few minutes later, Hagrid held Draco back.

“Promise me you’ll take care of him, will ya?” Hagrid asked him, still sounding a little teary.

Draco didn’t even hesitate before he opened his mouth. “Of course, I promise.” It was probably the easiest promise he had ever made but would be one of the hardest to keep.” He smiled up at the half-giant. “Harry means a lot to you, doesn’t he?”

“’E was so small when I got him from ‘is parents’ ‘ouse,” Hagrid was outright sobbing again and pulled a surprised Draco to his chest. Seconds later Draco felt his shoulder getting wet from way too big tears.

Even though it meant he had to deal with the emotional professor on his own, Draco had to admit he was glad he had told Harry to go on without him. It meant Hagrid had really forgiven him and not just said so in Harry’s presence, or that was at least how he chose to interpret it.

“I was so scared I’d break ‘im tha’ nigh’… An’ when Dumbledore sent me to deliver his ‘ogwarts letter ‘e was still much too small. I jus’ wanted to hide ‘im an’ feed ‘im an’ give ‘im fittin’ clothes.”

Draco slowly wrapped his arms around Hagrid’s torso, trying to comfort him. Being with Harry had really made him soft, not that he would ever complain about their relationship or the changes it brought. It was good the way it was – perfect even but Draco didn’t like using that word for anything – he just noticed how it developed and changed them bit by bit. It made them feel safe so Draco didn’t feel like he had to put up a blank mask all the time and Harry finally opened up and started to let go of his grief.

After a few more minutes that felt like half an eternity to Draco, the sobs subsided.

“Take care of ‘im, Draco,” Hagrid asked him again and then disappeared into his hut, leaving Draco standing on the edge of the forbidden forest in his tearstained cloak.

 

“What happened to your cloak?” Harry asked half-concerned, half-amused when Draco entered their rooms-

Draco finally allowed himself to scowl. “Hagrid and I had a heart-to-heart. Apparently there’s a lot of space for tears and snot in the body of a half-giant.”

Harry smiled and hugged him, careful not to touch the wet parts of his cloak. “Thank you for making an effort. Not even a year ago you would’ve run the other direction if something like that had happened. Go shower now; we’ll spend the rest of the day on our own.”

Draco smiled back and gladly complied. He took a long thorough shower during which he used most of his products. He finally felt clean again afterwards and let out a deep sigh. He put on a big fluffy sweater and track pants. He just wanted to relax for the rest of the day and drink some hot chocolate before madness would start up again on Monday.

Harry already sat on the sofa when Draco entered their living room, two big mugs of hot chocolate on the table in front of him.

“It’s like you can read my mind,” Draco said sounding a little amazed. He slumped down on the sofa next to Harry, not caring in the least about being graceful, and snuggled up to his side.

“Thank you,” he breathed and kissed Harry’s cheek. “This is exactly what I needed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the way I wrote Hagrid's speech is not really how it was done in the books but if someone wants to correct it feel free to leave a comment :D


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I finally got back in the hang of writing this, so here's another, rather long, chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

When they had finished their mugs they snuggled closer on the couch and Draco figured it was high time they talked about their plans for Easter. He already knew what he wanted to do, he just had to talk it over with Harry so he could find any possible issues or – if he wanted to do something else during their last vacation – they could compromise.

“Is there something you want to do during our Easter break?” Draco asked with his head lying in Harry’s lap.

“Well, it would be nice to actually participate in an egg hunt for once. My relatives always did one for Dudley when we were in elementary school and I was never allowed outside when they were looking for the eggs. They always sent me out afterwards to pick up the ones they missed but usually there were none because Petunia knew of course where she had hidden them and told Dudley where to look.”

“Then we’ll do an egg hunt,” Draco promised, his heart hurting for Harry. “I wanted to ask you if we should invite our friends over just for an afternoon. We could do it with them; I bet it’s more fun with more people.”

“That’s a great idea, Draco,” Harry agreed. Draco smiled and pulled him down into a kiss, intent to make him forget about his awful relatives as much as possible by creating positive memories to cover the negative ones.

“There’s another reason why you wanted to invite our friends, isn’t there?” Harry asked.

“Yes, there is.” To be honest, Draco liked how observant Harry could be if he wanted to. “I want to come out to them.”

Harry smiled down at him. “That’s awesome. But what about coming out in an elaborate fashion?”

Draco smirked. “That will still happen. But first I need to tell more people, I need a support system. I know you and Andromeda are on my side and my mother doesn’t really have a problem with it but I need more people to support me when I come out to the rest of the Wizarding World because I know they will make a scandal out of it.”

“I know. The more support, the better. I think we need to invite our friends on different days, though, so the focus is on you and not on house rivalries.”

Draco sighed. He knew of course, why Harry and his friends didn’t like his friends, especially Pansy, but he hoped with time they could at least warm up to Blaise. Blaise had been neutral in the war and had never really participated in the Gryffindor baiting Draco had done.

“I’ve already thought of that,” he assured Harry. “We’ll just have to invite them on different days. I want to tell Luna and Grace first so they can support me as well when I tell the others, then my friends and then the Gryffindors.”

“That’s a great idea,” Harry agreed. He bowed down and kissed Draco again. “I’m sure at least Luna will be nothing less than supporting and loving.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for. I have no idea how everyone else will react.”

“No matter what, I’ll be there with you,” Harry promised.

“Even if your friends aren’t?”

“Yes, even then,” Harry said and pulled Draco up from his lap so he could kiss him properly.

 

~

 

Harry was beyond relieved when he and Draco finally fell into their bed the day before the Easter Holidays began. He wasn’t sure he could’ve survived another hour of Professors telling them for the fifth time how their NEWT exams would be structured. They were technically done with school now and only had to take their exams after the holidays and then wait for their results before they would leave Hogwarts for good.

They would have two days they could spend completely on their own. Lucifer was still with Narcissa during that time and they had invited Luna and Grace over for the afternoon after they had picked him up from Malfoy Manor again. Harry wanted to make the best of those two days taking Draco’s mind off his coming out and make him relax as much as possible, the calm before the storm that was sure to come, if not from Draco’s friends then from Harry’s.

During the whole train ride home Draco already looked tense. Fortunately, Harry knew a remedy for that and once they had settled in at home he suggested they go flying.

Draco’s eyes lit up and he raced Harry outside into the garden. In seconds they both had transformed and taken off into the sky. They only came down again when the sun started to sink and they got hungry. While Draco looked better already he still wasn’t relaxed, though.

Remembering the time when Draco had given him a massage, Harry decided that after dinner he would return the favour. When Harry asked him about it, Draco accepted with a grateful smile.

 

“You’re doing this so I won’t freak out about coming out, don’t you?” Draco asked smiling when he was lying on the bed face down with his shirt off.

Harry chuckled. He knew Draco would figure out his intentions sooner or later and confront him about them.

“Of course,” he said. “You will have enough time to freak out about it once it has gone bad.”

“You seem to have a lot of faith in your friends about this,” Draco deadpanned.

“Well, to be honest, I don’t really know how they will react. Hermione accepted Luna’s trans boyfriend after she did some research on being trans but there’s not one clean-cut definition for non-binary except for outside the gender binary and that’s not even a fraction of your identity.”

Draco nodded. He knew what Harry was trying to say even though he was stumbling over the wording.

“You mean that she can’t read up on most of what I will tell them so she will probably question it?”

“Yeah, I think that could happen. It was like that during the war when Mr Lovegood told us the Deathly Hallows were real and she didn’t believe it until she had undeniable proof.”

“Just like she always frowns when we call each other Alyran because she can’t find a translation for it,” Draco pointed out with a sad smile. “Sometimes her bookish smarts really limit her.”

“Indeed. But let’s not talk about that. I intended to make you feel better, not even more stressed about coming out.” Harry smiled and finally started his massage. He made sure to pay special attention to the small patches of scales all over Draco’s back. Touching them was a source of comfort after all, and maybe the effect would be enhanced by a massage.

Judging by Draco’s moans and relaxed sighs it was. To make the experience even more pleasurable he then started to drop small kisses on both skin and scales.

“I won’t be able to move after this, you’re turning me into jelly,” Draco complained, his voice muffled by the pillow he was lying on.

Harry smiled brightly and kissed Draco’s neck again. “That was my intention.”

“You, Harry Potter, can be downright devious.”

 

Once he had successfully turned Draco into goo, Harry switched their clothes for pyjamas with a swish of his wand and lay down next to Draco.

“I have to admit, you were very successful in calming me. But what will you do tomorrow to soothe my fears?” Draco asked. He sounded like he was on the verge of falling asleep already.

“I thought we could go shopping. I remember you really enjoyed it when we went before Christmas so I thought you could have a look at the new summer fashion.”

“That’s brilliant,” Draco said and showed a big, relaxed smile. “I love you, Harry.”

“And I love you, my Dragon,” Harry replied and caught Draco’s lips in a slow and sensuous kiss.

 

When Harry woke up the next morning, Draco was already awake. He lay with his head on Harry’s chest and lazily traced random patterns on his shirt. He looked up at Harry when Harry let his fingers slide through Draco’s hair that looked flawless even now.

“Morning,” Harry said with a smile.

“Morning…” Draco yawned. “Harry? I need to ask something of you.” He sounded hesitant but determined.

“Ask away,” Harry encouraged.

“Well, I… I thought about it a lot ever since I decided to come out to our friends and… I want to use they/them pronouns.”

“Okay.” Harry smiled and kissed the top of Draco’s head.

Draco’s eyes widened in surprise but then they smiled, too.

“Thank you.”

“I have one question though,” Harry said. “Do you want me to use they/them around everyone or just around people you’re out to?”

Draco frowned. Why would Harry even need to ask that? Wasn’t it obvious?

“Only with people who know, of course,” they snapped. “If you used it around other people you would out me.”

“Right…” Harry conceded. “That makes sense… I’m sorry.”

Draco’s expression softened when they saw how scolded Harry looked. Maybe it wasn’t as obvious as they had thought and Harry was prone to not think things through before he opened his mouth after all. At least he _had_ asked and not just gone ahead.

“It’s alright,” Draco soothed. “At least you asked. I shouldn’t have snapped at you, I just thought it went without saying.” They placed a kiss between Harry’s collarbones, the closest patch of skin they could reach.

“I have a great Alyran,” Harry said with a smile. “Even when I’m being an idiot they know exactly what to say to make me feel better.”

Draco smiled back and leaned up to kiss Harry properly.

“My Alyran is great, too. He is a little dense sometimes but that’s part of the charm.”

Harry laughed and turned them both around so Draco lay underneath him. When Draco just raised an amused eyebrow at the change of position, Harry started tickling them mercilessly. He only stopped when Draco was gasping for breath underneath him.

“Stop, please stop,” they panted. “What I wanted to get across was I love you, dunderhead, flaws and all.”

Harry smiled and kissed Draco but couldn’t resist tickling them one last time.

 

After breakfast they left for Muggle London together. Ever since their shopping trip before Christmas Draco had developed a fondness for Muggle clothes, especially dresses. The cuts and designs were so much more creative than those one could find in the Wizarding World, where most dresses were either ball gowns or reminded them of the school uniform the girls at Hogwarts wore. The dress Harry had commissioned for them at Copeland was by far the prettiest of all the dresses they’d seen in the shops of the Wizarding World so far.

To Draco’s surprise Harry didn’t just follow them around this time but sometimes went off and came back with a shirt for himself or something he thought Draco might like (which they did, most of the time) and they left the shops around noon with bright smiles and full bags.

 

For lunch, Draco apparated them to France to introduce Harry to their favourite restaurant.

Taking pity on Harry, who could neither speak nor understand French, Draco ordered Blanquette de Veau, a veal ragout, for them both. They smiled when Harry visibly enjoyed the meal. Harry noticed them watching and smiled, too.

“It tastes great, Draco,” Harry confirmed their observations.

“I’m glad,” Draco said honestly. “It’s my favourite restaurant but it’s the first time I’m taking someone here. It just didn’t feel right to share it with anyone else.”

Harry’s smile widened. “We should definitely come here more often, then,” he decided.

 

After lunch, instead of apparating them both back to Britain, Draco led Harry into the Wizarding quarter of Paris. Once there they cast a _tempus_ and then led Harry through the streets and to a hairdresser.

“You once said I could do whatever I wanted with your hair, does that offer still stand?” they asked Harry.

Harry, who until now had not understood why they were standing in front of this expensive looking shop, understood it now and nodded.

“You’ve decided to get professional help?” he teased.

“Indeed I have. I also have an idea already what I want your hair to look like once Curtis is done with it.”

 

Inside the salon the hairdresser seemed to be waiting for them already.

“Welcome, Mr Potter,” he greeted Harry. He guided Harry to a chair in front of a tall mirror and then approached Draco to greet them with a kiss to each cheek and a light hug.

“It’s good to see you, Draco. You look stunning as always,” he said in French.

Harry, who hadn’t understood a word, frowned when he saw Draco blush at the compliment.

“I’m taken, Curtis,” Draco clarified in English. “And please speak English while I’m here with Harry. I know you French people don’t like talking in any other language than French but he’s your customer and it’s impolite.”

Harry had to admit to himself that he liked seeing Draco’s commanding Malfoy persona once again. It made him feel loved seeing Draco so defensive about him and their relationship.

Curtis grumbled something in French under his breath but when Draco raised one of their eyebrows in a threatening manner he stopped.

“Of course, Draco,” he hurried to say in English and went to prepare Harry for his haircut.

“I’m glad we understand each other, Curtis,” Draco drawled and sat down on the chair closest to Harry.

 

Only a minute later, after Curtis had covered the mirror in front of Harry with a cloth, Harry could hear scissors and feel long strands of his hair get cut off. The sudden disappearance of weight surprised him at first – had his hair really been that heavy? – but he quickly got used to it. He was a little uneasy about not being able to see the hair get cut off, though, but he trusted Draco to know how his hair would look good and only let someone who knew what they were doing cut his hair.

About half an hour later, Curtis removed the cloth from the mirror, allowing Harry the first look at his new haircut. On the sides his hair had been cut off very close to the head, leaving it too short to curl but on the top and the back of his head it was still quite long and messy but somehow it looked purposefully messy and not carelessly so. He had to admit he was very happy with the outcome.

Draco thanked and paid Curtis and then followed Harry outside again.

 

“What was that all about?” Harry asked once they were a good distance away from the salon.

Draco winced. They had hoped Harry would just label the small exchange in French they’d had with Curtis as unimportant and forget about it but it seemed they weren’t that lucky.

“Curtis tried to flirt with me,” they divulged. “He’s had a crush on me for about two years now and while I’ve never encouraged his advances I never really discouraged him either before today. But don’t worry; I’ve never been attracted to him. Aside from that, his flirting doesn’t do anything for me other than the occasional blush. I prefer it when people show with their actions that they care about me, like coming back for me and saving me from a cursed fire.”

Harry’s face lit up when he realized what cursed fire Draco was talking about.

“I only wanted to know what he said to you to make you blush but thanks for explaining,” he said and kissed Draco’s temple.

 

They spent the remaining hours of the afternoon in the Wizarding quarter of Paris, walking around the shops, occasionally comparing them to their British counterparts and spending money on tacky trinkets and memorabilia.

On their way back home they picked up some pizza again. Draco had decided it would surely make good comfort food and Harry definitely wouldn’t complain.

When they fell asleep that night, Draco felt almost optimistic about their coming out. At least about coming out to Luna and Grace. And Harry had proved once again that he would still be there for Draco to lean on even if it went bad.


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is finally done! I had a beta for this because I have zero experience with coming out.
> 
> The second half of this chapter may be triggering to some people because not all of Draco's friends react positively to their coming out.

The next morning Draco woke up to the scent of fresh pancakes and had to smile. They loved every part of their relationship with Harry but simply being all domestic with him was one of their favourite parts.

They were interrupted in their musings when the door opened and Harry stepped inside. He was carrying a tray full of breakfast food and only wearing sweatpants and the shirt Draco had gotten him for Christmas.

“Good morning, my World’s Okayest Asexual,” Draco purred smiling.

Harry chuckled. “Good morning, love. How are you feeling?”

Draco stretched luxuriously. “I’m still very relaxed and I’m looking forward to seeing Lucifer again.”

“Me, too,” Harry said and joined Draco in bed again.

They took their time with breakfast, joking around and feeding each other so it was almost lunchtime when they apparated to the gates of the Manor to pick up Lucifer.

 

Lucifer was his usual excited self. Thankfully this time Draco was fast enough to cast a cushioning charm on the ground underneath themself before their giant dog pounced on them. Lucifer licked through Draco’s face, making them laugh loudly. It felt good to finally have their dog back for more than an afternoon even though they would only have him for a few days. Draco buried their face in Lucifer’s fur and wrapped their arms around him tightly before they let go and let him greet Harry in a similar fashion.

Draco had just gotten off the floor again when their mother approached them, accompanied by Andromeda and Teddy.

“Draco, how are you?” Narcissa exclaimed and pulled Draco into a smothering hug.

“Mother, I’m fine,” Draco insisted, their voice a little muffled as their mother was pressing their head to her chest. “You saw me just last week.”

“I know. I still missed you. It’s so lonely here with only Lucifer as company.” She squeezed Draco a little tighter still.

Draco smiled at their mother’s stubbornness. She was staying alone at Malfoy Manor even though their family owned many more inviting houses and Draco couldn’t think of one reason why.

“You don’t have to live here, mother. The Malfoys own a lot more houses that aren’t suffocating in Dark magic like the manor. Now that father is dead, what is keeping you here?”

“The memories,” she admitted. “I still remember what our life was like after the Dark Lord had disappeared. You weren’t even two years old back then but you were the sweetest child and Lucius loved you so much. He once told me it would break his heart if you made the same mistakes he had made.”

Draco could feel their mother’s tears fall on their shoulder and they hugged her tighter. They realised then that they had never thought about the Manor that way. They had only seen the bad memories it held, not the good and they could understand now why their mother wouldn’t want to move out.

“You could move to the Manor in France. We made a lot of great memories there,” Draco still tried to convince her.

“I will think about it. It is true that we were always happy in France but I won’t promise you to move there.”

Draco smiled. “Thank you, mother. I just don’t want you to suffer because of father’s mistakes.”

“I know, my Dragon, but this is my decision to make.”

She kissed Draco’s forehead and let go of them again.

 

In the meantime Harry had greeted Andromeda and Teddy and now helped Teddy pet Lucifer. Teddy squealed in delight when Lucifer licked his hands and then through his face.

Andromeda hurried to cast a cleaning charm before Teddy could put his hands in his mouth again but still smiled.

“You’re very good with him, Harry,” Andromeda said. “Remus and Dora made the right decision when they decided to make you Teddy’s godfather.”

Harry looked up at her with tears in his eyes. “Thank you,” he brought out. “Your approval means a lot to me.”

 

Once they were back home, Lucifer raced through the whole house, probably to make sure everything was still as it should be. When he was done with his inspection, he joined Harry and Draco in the kitchen where they were already preparing lunch as Luna and Grace would arrive in a little more than an hour. Whenever he could, Harry touched Draco while they were cooking or placed kisses on any patch of skin he could reach.

They had just put the finishing touches to the meal when the doorbell rang and Lucifer ran into the hallway.

“You set the table and I’ll get the door,” Harry told Draco and kissed their jaw again. Before he could leave however, Draco grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

“I’ll do it,” Draco said decisively. “I won’t stay here like a pig waiting for slaughter. I know you just want to help, Harry, but this is something I have to do.”

“Alright. Do what you have to do, then.” Harry grinned cheekily and kissed Draco’s cheek. “I love you.”

“Thank you. I love you, too.”

 

Before they opened the door, Draco grabbed Lucifer’s collar and tried to keep him from pouncing on the girls instantly. They weren’t very successful but at least could warn Grace before Lucifer threw her to the ground.

“Hey, Lucifer,” Grace greeted him. “Yes, I’m alive and still in one piece, you don’t need to worry your furry head.”

Luna had already sat down next to them and started petting Lucifer. Draco smiled down at his friends. Luna had accepted their friendship without batting an eyelash despite being imprisoned in Malfoy Manor during the war. Maybe Harry was right and she would accept this just as easily. Maybe coming out wouldn’t be a disaster.

 

Back inside Harry had already set the table and was waiting for them. He pulled out chairs for both Luna and Grace but instead of sitting down as well, he pulled Draco aside and into a tight hug. He whispered a few reassurances in their ear and Draco couldn’t help smiling. It was cute how Harry still tried to make them feel better about coming out and they had to admit that it put them a little more at ease.

Despite the reassurances and Harry’s calming hand on their back, Draco still couldn’t fully relax and enjoy their meal. They knew their coming out would probably go over well but _probably_ wasn’t certain enough. They were a Slytherin with self-preservation skills, not a reckless, risk-taking Gryffindor. They needed their friends to know, though. They needed a bigger support system before their Dramatic Coming Out. And if their friends didn’t accept them like they were they shouldn’t be their friends in the first place. Draco knew it was the right thing to do but they would still rather run and hide.

 

“I’m non-binary,” Draco blurted out once they had sat down in the living room after lunch. It was out and Draco had to admit it felt good, they felt more like themself. It was freeing.

“Oh, Draco, I’m so proud of you for coming out!” Luna exclaimed. She went over to Draco, hugged them tightly and kissed their cheek.

Draco was stunned and blushed. They really hadn’t expected it to go this well. It was almost like Luna had already known they were non-binary. But thinking about it now, they really shouldn’t be surprised. Luna often knew things she couldn’t know and in addition to that she was their medium.

Harry caught Draco’s eyes and mouthed _I told you_ with a wide grin. Draco smiled back.

“Uhm… if you don’t mind me asking,” Grace interrupted. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t mind,” Draco assured her with a smile, Luna still clinging to them. In fact, they rather liked talking about it. It assured them further that this was the right thing to do, no matter how people reacted. “Generally speaking, someone who is non-binary identifies with a gender outside the constructed binary of male and female. I am aware that the term isn’t the most accurate when it comes to my gender because I am sometimes a boy, sometimes a girl, sometimes neither and sometimes both but it’s the term I’m most comfortable with. And I use they/them pronouns.”

Grace nodded in understanding. “So when I’m talking about you, instead of he or she I use they, right?”

Draco’s smile brightened. “Exactly.”

“Alright. I think I can do that. I feel honoured that you’ve decided to come out to us.”

“You’re my friends. I wanted you to know before I come out to the general public. I’ll need a good support system before I do that.”

“We’ll be there for you, Draco, no matter how everyone else will react,” Luna promised and tightened her arms around them again. “If you want to, I can be there when you come out to your other friends.”

Luna really was a great friend, Draco thought once again. “I’d really appreciate that. Pansy and Blaise will come over tomorrow and the Gryffindors the day after tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there.” Luna smiled and kissed Draco’s cheek again.

“Thank you. But now you should go back to your girlfriend or she’ll get jealous,” Draco pointed out.

Luna looked down in surprise, seemingly only then realizing she was still sitting in Draco’s lap. “You’re probably right.” After another kiss, this time to Draco’s forehead Luna got up from their lap again and let Grace pull her on her lap instead.

 

When Harry woke up the next morning he didn’t find Draco lying next to him but sitting in front of their closet, staring at their dresses.

“Draco? Are you alright?”

Harry could see Draco jump a little when Harry addressed them. A second later they looked over their shoulder at Harry and smiled.

“I’m okay. My nerves aren’t as bad as they were yesterday. I just don’t know what to wear.” Harry could hear the tension in Draco’s voice and knew that they weren’t as okay as they claimed. He hurried to get up and sat down next to Draco, pulling them into an embrace.

Draco then began to speak without any further prompting. “I really feel like wearing a dress without having to wear a Glamour when Blaise and Pansy come over but I’m scared of how they will react. Their parents were almost as strict as my father and I don’t know how much of their parents’ beliefs they have.”

“Well,” Harry grinned impishly. “They accepted me as your Alyran, didn’t they? I’m sure they just want you to be happy, Draco.”

“They are Slytherins, Harry,” Draco argued. “They will find a way to use this against me.”

“Did they ever use anything you told them against you before?” Harry asked carefully. Slytherins had always seemed to him like a tight-knit circle, thee kind of people who would do everything for their friends and turn viciously against anyone who hurt their own.

“They constantly teased me about my crush on you…” Draco admitted, a blush forming on their cheeks.

“That’s just what friends do, Draco. They tease and make fun of you but at the end of the day they’ll always be there for you,” Harry assured them and kissed their temple.

Draco smiled and decided to just wear a dress. They were in their own home and would dress how they felt like. Their friends would simply have to adjust to that and if they couldn’t they would have to leave; they were sure Harry wouldn’t stand for anything else.

 

Again, Draco was surprised by their friends’ reactions. Both Pansy and Blaise looked at them confused and then surprised. Pansy then rushed up to them and hugged them tightly.

“You look beautiful, Draco. You should wear dresses more often,” she told them and kissed their cheek. Draco blushed and hugged her back.

Once Pansy had let them go again, Blaise walked over to them and slapped their shoulder. “How is your boyfriend taking your feminine side, Draco?” he asked with a wide grin.

“Alyran,” Draco corrected without thinking. They had done it so often in the past months it was already an automatic response. “He was the first one I told and he accepted it better than I did in the first few weeks.”

“I’m glad he makes you happy,” Pansy said, “Even though he is the famous Harry Potter. Where is he, anyway?”

Draco just smiled secretively and led their friends into the living room.

 

There, Luna was already waiting for them with a tiger sitting on her right and Lucifer on her left. She calmly petted both of them and looked up at Draco and their friends with a smile.

“Draco, what is Lovegood doing here?” Pansy asked confused. “And why is she petting a tiger? And while I’m at it, where’s Potter?”

Draco chuckled. “Don’t worry, Sabre is quite harmless unless provoked and Luna is here for my support.”

Sabre bared his teeth at the accusation and let out a low growl.

“Yes, my big cat,” Draco soothed. “You’re very dangerous.” Sabre looked satisfied with that and licked the hand Draco offered.

Still a little hesitant of the tiger in the room Pansy and Blaise sat down on the loveseat standing in an angle to the one Draco and Luna sat on.

“So, why did you invite us, Draco?” Blaise asked. “Not that I don’t enjoy your company, but in your letter you said there was something you needed to tell us.

“I’m non-binary.” This time the words fell off Draco’s lips easily. Their friends had already accepted them wearing a dress so they were optimistic neither Pansy nor Blaise would abandon them. Prompted by their questions Draco explained their gender once more and smiled brightly when first Pansy and then Blaise came over to them and hugged them, both careful about not touching Sabre.

“I think you can turn back now, Harry,” Draco said but Sabre just sneered.

“Potter is an Animagus?” Blaise asked surprised.

Sabre gave him a feline grin and nodded slowly.

 

Coming out to Luna and Grace, and Pansy and Blaise had went too well in Draco’s opinion so they were wary about coming out to the Gryffindors. Draco was sure at least one of them would react negatively and not even Harry’s reassurances could convince them otherwise.

To both their dismay, Draco was right.

Draco had already explained their gender as best as they could when Hermione asked another question.

“Aren’t you genderqueer then? Or genderfluid?”

“While the description might fit, I’m not comfortable with those labels,” Draco explained calmly.

“But genderfluid is exactly what you are. How can you not be comfortable with that word?”

Draco frowned. Why did she have to be so infuriating?

“Would you rather I call you a witch or a Muggleborn, Hermione?” Harry asked her in turn and Draco shot him a grateful smile.

“A witch of course! People don’t need to know I’m a Muggleborn! But this is different,” Hermione argued.

“How is it different? It’s just a general term for something not everyone needs to know,” Draco snapped.

“But… it’s inaccurate. You said it yourself, you’re a boy or a girl sometimes, so you’re not non-binary then,” Hermione snapped back, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Draco surrendered then, burying their face in their hands. They had a feeling Hermione didn’t want to understand them. Sometimes she was just impossible to argue with.

“Hermione, stop,” Luna intervened when she saw how defeated Draco looked. She didn’t like to see her friends suffer. “Don’t you realize you’re claiming to know Draco better than they know themself? It’s very disrespectful. They didn’t have to answer all your questions because gender is a very personal matter and not everyone has to know. I can’t believe this is how you thank them for their trust. You’ve been doing this for months now, you disapprove of Harry and Draco calling each other their Alyran because it’s a term they’re more comfortable with than boyfriend and this is exactly the same. Not everything has to be how it is written in a book, Hermione, or haven’t you ever heard of the saying that the exception proves the rule? You should get your face out of your books for some time and just trust what people tell you about them without questioning it. To be honest I’m quite surprised you still have the friends you have considering how you’ve treated them in the past.”

Hermione looked shocked about Luna’s outburst and Ron angry but the other people in the room smiled at her and Ginny even looked proud.

Luna blushed. It was rare that the attention was on her because she had stood up to someone; usually eyes were on her because she could see things others couldn’t and thought she wasn’t quite right in the head.

“But… the way they call each other Alyran, it doesn’t make sense, it isn’t even a real word,” Hermione continued to complain when she had gotten over the small shock.

“It doesn’t matter!” Luna exclaimed. She knew she was close to exploding. Hermione’s book smarts had never before been quite as annoying. “Obviously Harry and Draco didn’t feel comfortable calling each other boyfriends so they found another word or invented a new one which suited them better. Just because you live happily in a heterosexual relationship with your _boyfriend_ doesn’t mean everyone has to.”

“Luna, would you come here for a second?”

Draco’s soft voice stopped Luna’s rage abruptly.

“Yes…” A little hesitant she got up and walked over to Draco. Draco pulled her onto their lap and kissed her cheek.

“Thank you, Luna. I knew you were my best friend for a reason. I would kiss you now but I think both Harry and Grace would disapprove.”

Luna chuckled. It was truly remarkable how much Draco had changed since before the war, especially considering how little some others had changed.

 

While Hermione had stopped talking, she still looked pissed off, waking the desire in Luna to kick her out. Draco didn’t need her as a friend as long as she wasn’t completely supportive of them and their gender and she was sure Harry wouldn’t want to stay friends with her now either.

Harry seemed to have read her mind as he got up and, after exchanging a few low growls with Draco, politely asked Hermione to leave.

“Are you throwing me out?” she asked bewildered.

Harry showed a lazy smirk, reminiscent of Sabre’s grin. “No, I’m simply asking you to leave because you upset my Alyran. If you don’t leave however, I will be inclined to do exactly that.”

His voice was calm and collected but Luna could see the anger in his eyes. Even Harry, the most forgiving person she knew, had a boundary for what he let his friends get away with and Hermione had obviously overstepped it.

Hermione looked surprised, though, and Ron scowled next to her.

“I don’t like it when people insult my friends,” Harry explained, still calm. “In our first year I declined Draco’s offer of friendship because they insulted Ron, now I ask you to leave because you insulted Draco who is not only my friend but my _Alyran_.” He put special emphasis on the last word to rile Hermione up a little.

Hermione nodded sadly. She couldn’t argue with Harry’s logic. With her head hanging she left the room and then the house, Ron right behind her, still fuming.

Draco sighed relieved and with a sad expression said: “I told you so, Harry.”


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally finished the next chapter! tell me how you like it.

“I’m sorry,” Harry heard Draco whisper when he woke up. “I didn’t mean for you to lose your best friends because of me.”

Harry kissed Draco’s neck and tightened his grip on them a little. “It’s not your fault. You said it a few days ago; Hermione’s book smarts can be very limiting. She often takes the opinion of an authority figure or a book and doesn’t question it further. Now she’ll simply have to face the consequences of her actions.”

Draco looked at him, still a little hesitant. “So, you’re not mad?”

“Not in the least,” Harry assured them with a smile and kissed them on the lips.

 

After a few seconds of silence, Draco’s stomach growled.

“What did you say?” Harry teased. “I’m afraid I didn’t understand it.”

“It was my stomach growling, not me,” Draco pointed out with a mock-serious expression and shoved Harry a little. “It said it’s hungry in case you don’t speak stomach.”

Harry chuckled and kissed Draco again. “Let’s have breakfast then. Do you think we could ask one of your family’s house elves to make us some? I don’t feel like getting up.”

Instead of answering Draco called out “Delphi!” and a house elf materialized at the foot of their bed.

“Master Draco called?” Delphi asked and disappeared from their sight for a second, presumably bowing.

“Yes,” Draco said when they could see her again. “Would you make some breakfast for Harry and me?”

Delphi’s eyes seemed to grow bigger and shone with happiness. “Delphi would be delighted, Master Draco.”

Draco suddenly felt bad for not calling her for so long. She had cared for them ever since they were born and they had never found her service lacking.

“Is there something else Delphi can do for Master Draco?” Delphi asked eagerly when Draco hadn’t dismissed her after half a minute – something Draco’s father had taught the house elves to always do.

“There is something else,” Draco told her, glad they had remembered it. “This is Harry, my Drakhono. He’s my mate and though we probably won’t visit the Manor anytime soon, I’d like for all of the house elves to come when he calls them.”

“Of course, Master Draco. It is an honour to serve you, Master Harry. Dobby has told us about your kindness.”

Harry smiled at Delphi, his eyes a little wet. Delphi squeaked in what was probably surprise, though Draco couldn’t tell for sure. They would probably never understand house elves but they did very much appreciate the work they did for them.

“Thank you, Delphi. You can go now,” Draco dismissed her and Delphi apparated away without making a sound.

 

Delphi had just brought them a big tray full of delicious looking and smelling food and disappeared again when there was a knock on the bedroom door.

“Come in, Ginny,” Harry invited her in. Ginny had spent the night in their guest room after telling them she didn’t want to be in the same house with Ron when he told their parents about Draco’s gender. They had of course offered her to stay with them and she had gratefully accepted.

“I was wondering when you would be having breakfast but as I can see you’re already eating. I’ll just get a pastry from the bakery then, I didn’t mean to intrude,” Ginny hurried to say and was halfway out of the room again already when Draco’s soft voice stopped her.

“No, please stay,” they invited her. “You can eat with us.”

As if she had done this a hundred times already, Ginny climbed into their bed with them and sat down between them, smiling.

“Thanks for having me,” she said and kissed Draco’s cheek.

“You’re welcome. But don’t tell your mother, she might think I have seduced you to come to the other side. If not the Dark side, then the gay, non-binary side.”

“Shut up, Draco!” Ginny complained chuckling. “Ever since Christmas my mother adores you. In her eyes both you and Harry can do no wrong.”

Draco leaned back with a satisfied smile. They had never before realized how good it felt to have friends, not before now, after coming out to all of them and losing some in the process. Friends like Luna who would argue on their behalf and be there to support them, friends like Blaise and Pansy who would tease them about their feminine side good-naturedly. And friends like Ginny who would have breakfast in bed with them and Harry and make it feel like the most natural thing to do. Friends who would tease them back when they teased them, friends who would laugh and cry with them, who would always be there for them. And most of all, friends who didn’t focus on labels but on the person behind them.

“I love my friends,” they said decisively.

“And your friends love you back, Draco,” Ginny assured them and hugged them tightly.

 

On the day of the egg hunt, Draco wore their Copeland dress again. It was their favourite of all their dresses and they looked forward to showing it off to more people than just Harry.

Pansy was the first to realize it wasn’t just any dress and reacted with curiosity rather than jealousy like Draco had expected her to.

“It’s from Copeland, isn’t it?” she asked though Draco could see she already knew the answer. “I never saw a dress like it in the store though. Did you have it commissioned?”

Draco turned around and shared a look with Harry who was making some last preparations for the brunch they would have after the egg hunt. Harry smiled brightly and joined them.

“I did,” he told Pansy and Draco could tell he enjoyed her surprised expression. “I gave it to Draco for Christmas. Don’t they look absolutely beautiful in it?”

To Draco’s relief Pansy agreed with Harry and smiled at him. They really didn’t want any fights today. This was for Harry and they would do their best not to let anyone ruin it.

 

While Harry was running around searching eggs and sweets with Grace and Blaise, Luna found her way to Draco and lay down on their lap.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked.

“You just did,” Draco smirked. “But yes, you can ask me whatever you want to. You’re my best friend, nothing is off limits.”

“Hey!” Pansy complained from beside them. “I thought I was your best friend!”

“I’m sorry, Pansy,” Draco said honestly. “You were my first friend and my best friend all through our childhood but after you moved to France we drifted apart and lately Luna has been a better friend than you.”

Pansy grumbled a little but Draco knew she understood. Since the beginning of the school year they had only seen each other in person a handful of times and that wasn’t enough for their friendship to continue as it was when they saw each other every day.

“Don’t you dare hurt hi- them, Lovegood. I will end you no matter how often you claim it was an accident.”

Despite the threat Luna smiled at Pansy. “I’d take full responsibility even for an accident. But the same goes for you, Pansy. If Draco tells me you hurt them, your death will be very painful.”

Pansy smiled back then. “Agreed. I like you; you have a lot of fire behind your innocent façade. Draco, why isn’t she your Drakhono? I like her better than Potter.”

“Because she isn’t. It’s that simple. She’s our medium though and I think that’s much better suited to her than being my Drakhono. Now that that is settled, what is it that you wanted to ask me, Luna?”

Luna chuckled at Draco’s short dismissal of the topic. “I just wanted to ask when you realized you were non-binary.”

Draco smiled down at her and told her everything they had told Harry all the while petting her soft hair.

“I think I might be non-binary, too,” Luna said when Draco had finished telling her their story. “I don’t really feel like I’m a girl but I’m not a boy either… I’m human, isn’t that enough? Why do we have to label everything?”

“You don’t have to define your gender or label yourself in any way, Luna,” Draco assured her. “But more often than not people will then label you with their own labels.”

“I don’t mind that,” Luna said lightly. “People have called me crazy and loony my whole life, what they say won’t hurt me anymore.”

Luna’s voice wasn’t accusing in the least but Draco still flinched when she mentioned the bullying she was still victim of. Not so long ago they had participated in it as well and they felt bad about it.

“I’m sorry, Luna.”

“I know you are, Draco. I can see how much you changed, if you hadn’t I never could’ve started a friendship with you. Don’t worry about it, I’ve forgiven you.”

Draco smiled. “Thank you. I really admire you, Luna. You’re so strong and forgiving. I don’t know if I could have done the same if I had been in your shoes.”

“You have other great qualities, Draco,” Luna assured them. “You’re loyal to your family and friends. You have a great sense of humour when it’s not used to belittle others and I’m pretty sure you can talk yourself out of most situations.”

Draco heard Harry chuckle from above them. “That they definitely can.”

“Are you already done with your egg hunt?” Draco asked with doubt in his voice.

Harry caught Luna’s eye and she got up from Draco’s lap a second before Harry poured all the eggs and sweets he had found over his Alyran.

“Harry!” Draco exclaimed outraged but smiling.

“I thought we could have a picnic instead of going inside again to eat,” Harry said as a way of explanation and let himself fall down on the grass next to Draco, careful not to sit on the loot of his egg hunt.

“Alright,” Draco agreed. It was sunny and warm so they had nothing against staying outside. “Come on then. We’ll have to carry it all outside, I don’t want to risk a Summoning Charm.”

Five minutes later Draco and their friends sat on a chequered picnic blanket with a mountain of food in their middle.

They conversed and ate and laughed and joked and Draco swore they could see Pansy smiling at Harry again. Maybe she would come around to him eventually after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've made a HP sideblog on tumblr, follow me [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/) <3
> 
> edit: I can't believe I forgot again [here's what I imagine Harry's new haircut looks like](https://trystyles.com/wp-content/plugins/justified-image-grid/timthumb.php?src=https%3A%2F%2Ftrystyles.com%2Fwp-content%2Fgallery%2Fundercut%2Fundercut-men-hairstyles-for-natural-hair-haircuts_954.jpg&h=400&q=75&f=.jpg).


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Attempted suicide  
> Proceed with caution, loves.

Draco had just finished painting their nails when the Floo roared to life.

“Draco!” Luna exclaimed. “You have to come over!” She sounded frantic and frightened and after Draco had shared a concerned look with Harry they both jumped up from the couch and were through the Floo and inside Grace’s flat in seconds.

Draco grabbed Luna’s shoulders a little roughly and looked her in the eyes. “What happened?” they asked, hoping their own fear didn’t come through too much. They had never seen Luna this scared and it affected them.

“Grace, she…” Luna stammered. “She has your dagger and… she said something about a prophecy…”

“Fuck,” Draco cursed. “I knew it. Where is she? What is she doing?”

Luna swallowed and Draco could see tears building in her eyes. “She wants to kill herself.”

Draco was shocked. They definitely hadn’t expected _that_. What did the prophecy say to make her do something like that? Why would she use their dagger for it? And how did she get hold of their dagger in the first place?

“Where is she?” Draco repeated, now slightly panicking as well.

Luna led them through a short corridor and into the bathroom where Grace sat slumped in the bathtub.

“I stunned her,” Luna explained.

Draco nodded and climbed into the bathtub. There they knelt down above Grace and gently pried the dagger from her hand.

 

The second the dagger leaves Grace’s hand, hundreds of miles away a bright light fills a spacious cave when a crystal breaks in two. The two Dragons that guarded it sigh in relief.

“ _They defeated the prophecy_ ,” the dark blue Dragon says, a smile spreading on their lips. Their companion smiles as well. “ _I knew they could do it. We chose them for a reason._ ”

Satisfied, the two Dragons curl up next to each other and fall asleep to wait until the Dragon Child and their Drakhono find them.

 

Back in Grace’s flat Draco handed the dagger to Harry who was standing behind them before they enervated Grace again.

They had just finished the last syllable of the incantation when Grace jumped up. She looked at Draco, then at Harry and finally at Luna.

“What are you doing here?” she asked confused and concerned.

“Saving your life,” Draco responded.

“But the prophecy… I…” her voice started to become frantic.

“Grace,” Draco said softly. “Please look at me.”

A few seconds later Grace looked up at Draco, her eyes wide and fearful.

“It’s alright,” Draco assured her in a calm voice. “Whatever the prophecy said, it was broken when I took the dagger from you.”

“Broken?” Grace gasped. “But how…”

“Apparently my taking the dagger from you made it impossible for the prophecy to be fulfilled. Didn’t you notice the sensation of a thread getting cut in your mind?”

Grace nodded slowly, a hesitant smile forming on her lips.

“Good. Now we’ll get out of this bathtub and go into the living room. I’ll ask one of the Malfoy house elves to make us Hot Chocolate. It will help us calm down.”

Grace nodded again and waited patiently for Draco to climb out of the tub before she let Harry pull her up as well. She had just climbed out of the tub when she almost fell into it again, pushed by Luna who rushed towards her and hugged her tightly.

“I was so scared,” she whispered with her face pressed against Grace’s neck and her fingers touching her pulse. “I love you, Grace, and I don’t ever want to lose you.”

Grace hugged Luna back and started crying. She let out all the emotions she hadn’t allowed to come to the surface since she had gotten to know Draco and Harry and found out who they were.

Draco took one look at their friends and pulled Harry out of the bathroom with them. Luna and Grace deserved some privacy now.

 

Ten minutes later they all sat in Grace’s living room. Luna had curled up on Grace’s lap who sat in an armchair and Draco and Harry sat opposite of them on the couch.

Delphi had provided them with big mugs of Hot Chocolate and a plate full of cookies.

“You want me to tell you about the prophecy,” Grace stated after she had had her first sip of Hot Chocolate and no one else seemed inclined to start the conversation.

“Yes,” Draco confirmed. “I’d like to hear it, if not the exact words then at least the gist of it.”

“I… I was supposed to kill you… or I would be killed with your weapons…” Grace brought out. She looked to be on the brink of tears. “I didn’t want to kill you… never, so…”

“You tried to kill yourself with my weapon,” Draco finished.

Grace nodded.

Draco couldn’t keep the smile off their face when another small piece of the Old Knowledge revealed itself to them.

“You couldn’t have hurt yourself with my dagger,” Draco explained when their smile was met with confused looks. “The weapons of a Dragon Child and their Drakhono can never be used against them.”

Luna smiled in understanding but Grace looked even more confused now. “But I didn’t use it against you,” she argued. “I used it against myself.”

“That’s not the point. You could intend to harm Luna and it would still not work. I don’t want you dead and that is the only reason the blade would’ve been blunt had you tried to kill yourself.”

“Then why was the prophecy only broken when you took the dagger from me, if I couldn’t have hurt myself with it anyway?”

“Because you actively tried to kill yourself,” Harry explained. “The prophecy would have just stayed unfulfilled, maybe forever, if you hadn’t tried to fulfil it. But this way Draco had to actively intervene and therefore the prophecy was broken.”

Understanding spread on Grace’s face and soon a wide smile followed it.

“Thank you,” she breathed. “I was basically told from birth that the prophecy would be fulfilled one way or another and when I met you I realized I didn’t want it to be fulfilled under any circumstances. You were the first people to treat me like a true friend and I couldn’t lose you.”

Grace started crying again and this time Harry and Draco went to comfort her as well.

 

“You miss them,” Draco stated when they lay in bed that night.

“I miss who?” Harry asked confused.

“Your friends. Hermione and Ronald,” Draco specified. “You don’t need to hide it from me, Harry. You are allowed to miss them even though Hermione hurt me.”

“I know. It’s just… I’m so disappointed in them. Hermione is usually so accepting. I’d just rather not miss them to be honest.”

“I’m sure they’ll come around eventually. They always did so far, didn’t they?”

Harry nodded and buried his head in Draco’s chest, a sure sign that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Draco smiled and pressed a kiss to the crown of his head.

“Sleep well, Harry,” they said. Harry didn’t answer, he was already asleep.

 

The next day Draco sat in the living room reading the diary of the Dragon Child once again. Grace and Luna had kidnapped Harry to cheer him up and make him forget about Ron and Hermione for a while and Draco was more than glad about it. They had spent a lot of time together in the last few months and while Draco didn’t mind that at all, they were sure they were both glad to be separated at least for a few hours.

Draco had just decided to get up and have some lunch when the Floo roared to life. They could see the freckled head of Ronald Weasley in the hearth and frowned.

“What do you want, Weasley?” they asked. “Harry is off with Luna and Grace.”

“That is… good. I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to apologize.”

Draco’s eyes widened in surprise. They definitely hadn’t expected this. Ronald had always seemed to them to be the more stubborn of Harry’s friends and after he had just followed Hermione out the other day they had thought he agreed with her fully.

“Come through, then,” they offered, though they were still a little hesitant.

“Thank you.”

A minute later Ronald stood in the living room. Draco, always the gracious host his parents had raised them to be, instantly offered drinks.

“I don’t need anything, Draco, thank you. I’ve just had lunch. I just wanted to talk to you.”

Draco nodded and led him over to the couch. They sat down next to each other and for the first time in their life Draco felt strangely uncomfortable in this house. It was an unsettling feeling and they wanted it to disappear as soon as possible.

“So talk,” they prompted, hoping it would hurry the process.

“First of all, I wanted you to know I don’t have anything against you being non-binary or non-binary people in general. I know and have been taught from a young age that one’s magic gets stronger the more comfortable they are in their body and I can see how comfortable you are in your body right now. Your magic is almost pouring out of you.”

Draco nodded mutely. Their parents had never taught them that but it made sense. Their spells were now a lot stronger than they had been before or during the war and while they had always thought it had been a side-effect of their fear it could just as well have been related to them feeling negatively about their body.

“Hermione doesn’t know this,” Ronald continued. “She’s been brought up in the Muggle World and what I could gather from her talking after we left, she very much expects everything to follow certain rules, wants everything to be black or white, one thing or the other.”

“Friends or boyfriends,” Draco continued.

“Exactly. The Wizarding World is very much black and white, at least most of the time. This assures her because as far as I know the Muggle World is very much made up of shades of grey.”

Draco nodded again, understanding her a little more now but under no circumstances accepting her actions.

“I don’t want to excuse her behaviour but I want to apologize for mine. I didn’t leave with her because I agreed with her but because I wanted to know why she was so against it all. I should’ve stayed, I’m sorry.”

“I accept your apology. But you should definitely talk to Harry as well. I know he misses both of you, he will be glad to have at least one of his closest friends back.”

“Of course, I will,” Ron promised. “But now I have to go back to the Burrow. I told Mom I wouldn’t be long. She asked me to degnome the garden.”

“I’ll see you. I just hope your girlfriend will eventually come around as well. I’d hate for Harry to lose her as a friend.”

“I hope so, too,” Ron agreed. Then he stood up and held out his hand. “Friends?”

Draco smiled at him. “Friends.”

 

Harry flooed back home in the evening after a very entertaining and relaxing day spent with Lucifer, Grace and Luna. Lucifer walked from the hearth directly to the cushion in the opposite corner of the room and slumped down on it. They had exhausted him, making him chase balls and sticks they had thrown with magic in the vast park they had spent most of the afternoon in. Harry smiled at him fondly and then left the room to investigate the delicious scent wafting into his nose.

He found Draco in the living room, setting the table for the two of them.

“What is this delicious scent I smell?” Harry asked and wrapped his arms around Draco from behind.

“That’s me,” Draco said smugly and leaned back into Harry’s embrace.

“Oh, I know that.” Smiling Harry buried his nose in Draco’s neck and breathed in their comforting and calming scent. “I meant that other delicious smell.”

“Oh, that’s dinner. I made a light vegetable soup with croutons. You can sit down, I’ll go get it.”

“As I said, it already smells delicious. Thank you for making dinner.”

Harry loosened his embrace again and Draco turned in his arms.

“You’re welcome,” they said and kissed Harry before they went to the stove to get the soup.

 

“Ron was here,” Draco said once Harry had finished his soup. They usually didn’t mind talking during a meal but they wanted Harry to not have anything in his mouth when they brought up this topic. They didn’t want Harry to choke on the soup after all.

Harry still choked on the air. “Ron? He didn’t…”

“No, he didn’t,” Draco assured him, knowing what Harry was worried about. “He was here to apologize.”

They summarized their afternoon for Harry, leaving him speechless.

“So he still wants to be our friend?” Harry asked once he had found his voice again.

“He does,” Draco confirmed. “He’ll probably come over again in a few days to tell you in person.”

“Thank Merlin,” Harry breathed and smiled widely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this too so long and isn't quite as long as the previous chapters but I swear, this chapter fought me literally every step of the way and I'm glad I'm finally done with it. I really hope the next one won't be as tough to write.

Just two days later, Ron made good on his word.

The Floo roared to life just as Draco had clipped the leash on Lucifer’s collar to go on a walk with him. They knew Harry was in the living room and would tell anyone who wanted to talk to them to call again later. But then they heard Ron’s voice and halted in their steps. Maybe they should make sure Harry was okay with them leaving now after all.

“You stay here,” they told Lucifer. Lucifer cocked his head. “I just want to check on Harry. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Lucifer seemed to understand them then because he licked Draco’s hand and butted his head at Draco’s stomach.

“Yes, yes, I’m going.” Draco laughed.

They poked their head into the living room and saw Harry and Ron standing face to face, looking beyond awkward.

“Hi Ron,” they greeted when Ron looked up at them.

Harry then turned around as well. He looked confused. He had probably thought Draco had left already.

“I’ll take Lucifer on a walk now. I’ll be back in an hour,” Draco told him. They didn’t ask whether Harry would prefer they stayed but they could see Harry had gotten the message.

“Yes, go,” he replied with a smile. “Lucifer needs his exercise.”

 

Just ten minutes later Draco already regretted having left Harry at home. Not because they feared the outcome of his conversation with Ron would be negative but because their hands were freezing off. It wasn’t that cold outside but they had forgotten just how fast their hands cooled down when they didn’t have Harry’s constantly warm hands to hold onto.

Trying to keep at least one of their hands warm Draco stuck it into their coat pocket and made a curious discovery. What were their old Seeker gloves doing in their coat pocket? After a second of weighing the pros and cons they put them on. Better to make terrible fashion choices than to come home with their hands frozen off.

 

When Draco came back home, Ron had already left again and they found Harry curled up on the couch with a book.

“How did it go?” they asked and sat down right next to Harry to profit from his constant warmth.

Harry shifted so Draco could put their feet underneath his thighs to warm them but he was silent for a few more seconds before he marked his page and put the book away. “It went very well. I had no idea wizards were so accepting when it comes to gender.”

Draco chuckled and shifted a little so they could put their head on Harry’s shoulder. “I didn’t know either,” they admitted. “Ron’s upbringing was definitely very different from mine.”

“Oh, really? I had no idea,” Harry mocked.

Draco frowned. “I like your sarcasm way more when you’re not using it against me, you know?”

Harry’s smile grew mischievous. “Oh, really?” he repeated.

“I hate you, Potter.” Draco grumbled.

“Considering you almost sit in my lap I don’t believe you, _Malfoy_.”

“I’m just using you for your warmth. Better to be annoyed than cold.”

“Just tell yourself that.” Harry pulled Draco into a kiss, still smiling.

 

That night, Draco couldn’t fall asleep. No matter what they tried, their mind was simply too full to shut off.

“Harry,” they whispered when they had tried to fall asleep for an hour unsuccessfully.

“Yeah?” Harry sounded like he had been half asleep already. Draco hoped they hadn’t woken him.

“Do you think I should come out to Mrs Weasley?”

Harry turned around to face Draco. “You know I can’t and won’t make that decision for you.”

“I know. I just want to know whether you think she will accept me.”

Without hesitating Harry pulled Draco into his arms. “Sometimes you really worry too much.”

“I’m a Slytherin,” Draco argued. “It’s called self-preservation.”

“Okay, self-preservation then. But I don’t think it’s necessary in this case. Based on what Ron told me today I’m about 99 percent sure Mrs Weasley will accept you with open arms.” He kissed Draco’s forehead.

A small smile spread on Draco’s face and they hid their face in Harry’s chest so he wouldn’t see. “Thank you. Do you think we could Floo over to the Burrow tomorrow?”

“Of course. I’m sure Mrs Weasley will be happy to have us. We should just send an owl to let her know we’re coming over. Do you think you can sleep now?”

Draco just hummed in reply. Harry kissed their forehead again and then turned a little so Draco could use his chest as a pillow.

 

The next day they flooed over to the Burrow for lunch. Draco didn’t want to leave Lucifer at home alone so they took him with them as well. Mrs Weasley – just like almost everyone who had met Lucifer – instantly took a liking to him. Draco barely had the chance to tell her his name before she ran off to get him a bowl of water.

Draco turned away from Mrs Weasley just in time to keep Harry from falling out of the Floo face first. They had to chuckle at the entrance he made. “More than seven years in the Wizarding World and you still can’t Floo, I’m impressed.”

“Shut up. I’m still convinced there’s an easy trick to master it but no one’s telling me about it because it’s too funny to see me fail.”

“What is Lucifer doing here?” Ron’s voice came from the kitchen.

“Harry and Draco brought him,” Mrs Weasley told him. “Isn’t he just adorable?” Draco and Harry shared a smile. It had been a good idea to bring Lucifer and not only because his presence soothed Draco almost as much as Harry’s did.

 

As always the stew Mrs Weasley had made was delicious but Draco had to admit, at least in the privacy of their own mind, they much preferred when they got to cook together with Harry. There was just something special about eating something you had cooked yourself.

After lunch the four of them migrated to the living room again and sat down on the various couches. Choosing comfort over proper etiquette Draco sat down on Harry’s lap, which earned them a smile from Mrs Weasley and a neck kiss from Harry. Ron just rolled his eyes.

“You said in your letter there was something you wanted to tell me, Draco?” Mrs Weasley asked when a minute had gone by without anyone saying anything.

“Yes, right,” Draco said. Harry seemed to have noticed how nervous they were despite all of the reassurances because he slid one of his hands underneath Draco’s shirt and gently petted the scales on the small of their back. It relaxed them immensely so they took a deep breath and then just said it. “I’m non-binary.”

If Mrs Weasley was surprised by their declaration she didn’t show it. Instead she smiled at them and asked, “What are your pronouns?”

Draco was beyond relieved and their answering smile lit up the whole room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kinda sad (and kinda short and kinda late), sorry. I hope you still enjoy it.

When they shifted into their Dragon forms that afternoon Harry noticed something curious about Draco. They seemed to have grown a few feet since their last transformation and instead of just reflecting the sunlight their scales now seemed to glow faintly.

“ _Harry_ ,” Draco breathed when they noticed it as well. “ _I read about this in the Dragon Child’s diary. This is… like my final form I guess. It shows I’m comfortable in both my human and my Dragon body. I thought I’d never reach this stage… Oh Merlin, Harry, I’m so happy!_ ”

Harry smiled and rubbed his snout on Draco’s affectionately. He was happy for Draco, of course he was, but it was also a reminder for him, showing him he wasn’t comfortable in his own body, yet.

“ _Something is bothering you_ ,” Draco growled, observant as always, and nudged Harry’s head with their snout. “ _Tell me._ ”

“ _It’s not important, it’s nothing…_ ” Harry tried to brush it off. But Draco would have nothing of it. “ _I can see you’re hurting, Harry. That is not nothing,_ ” they insisted and licked Harry’s cheek to soothe him. “ _Please tell me_.”

Harry couldn’t keep a small smile from appearing on his face. While he still didn’t feel completely comfortable sharing his insecurities with Draco he always felt warm when Draco showed they were worried and cared about him. It wasn’t his intention but one of his insecurities slipped out nonetheless when he looked into Draco’s warm, caring eyes for a second too long, the silver even more mesmerizing now than when they were in their human form.

“ _I don’t think I will ever reach my final form,_ ” he said with shame in his voice.

“ _You will._ ” Draco’s voice was strong and sure. It was almost too easy to believe Draco, like Harry had just waited for someone to love him like he was and help him to do the same. “ _It may be tough and it’s definitely not something you achieve in an afternoon but you will eventually feel comfortable in your body and I will do my best to help you with that_.”

 

Harry still felt warm when he went to bed that night, as if by telling him they would be by his side, Draco had cast a strong warming charm on him but instead of warming his body it warmed his heart.

“I love you,” he whispered into Draco’s skin. “Merlin, I love you so much, it scares me sometimes. I never thought I could feel this much for someone.”

Draco smiled and kissed his forehead. “You’re definitely not alone with that. I just had more time to come to terms with it.”

“You did?” Harry was surprised. He had thought Draco’s attraction had developed over the past few months like his own had.

“Don’t laugh now but I’ve at least been intrigued by you ever since I saw your face the first time in the Daily Prophet. Then, when I first met you at Madam Malkin’s, I didn’t know it was you. You were so different from the picture the Prophet had painted of you. I only realized it the next day because there was an article about you being sighted in Diagon Alley.

“Then of course I approached you on the Hogwarts Express and instead of becoming your friend like I had hoped I fucked up royally by insulting your first friend. Back then I didn’t understand why you didn’t want to be my friend though and I was crushed because you turned down my offer so easily and chose a Weasley over me. In fact, I decided that very night that if I couldn’t be your friend I would become your rival just so I could have a place in your life even if it made you hate me in the process.”

Harry silenced Draco with a kiss. “I never hated you, just the mask you were wearing in public. I didn’t even know the real you until this year.”

Draco gave him a weak smile. “Thank you. But… sometimes the masks I wore fused with my skin. Sometimes I really was who I was pretending to be. I did a lot of terrible things of my own free will. You had every reason to hate me. In fact… just a few days ago when Granger complained about my pronouns I would’ve called her Mu- the m-word again if Luna hadn’t stepped in.”

Harry frowned. “I’m glad you didn’t. I guess I would’ve forgiven you but... it definitely would’ve made things even more awkward. But I believe you were telling me about when you first figured out you had a crush on me.”

Draco rolled their eyes. “You were the one who made me go off topic in the first place but okay, back to the epic story of _How Little Draco Fell for Their Nemesis_. It’s an enemies to lovers story for the history books so you should be glad you’re hearing it right from the source.”

“You self-absorbed prat!” Harry complained and shoved Draco playfully.

“Not as self-absorbed as you. You’re the one who wants to know how I fell for you.”

“I simply want to make sure the history books get it right.”

“Shut up already or I won’t tell you after all.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “I love you, too.”

“Nice to know, now shut up.”

For a second Harry contemplated hitting Draco again but he refrained. It wouldn’t do any good anyway. Draco’s ego was already too big.

“So, where was I? Right, I just decided I would be a thorn in your side so you would have to pay attention to me. Well, that worked quite well until fourth year when I realized you were quite hot when you outsmarted and outmanoeuvred the Dragon to get her egg during the first task. I think that day was my gay awakening. And from then on I only fell further for you with every passing year and tried my best to ignore my feelings by continuing to insult you.”

Draco expected Harry to laugh about them and their stupid school crush but instead he pulled them closer.

“I’m glad you stopped ignoring your feelings and let your masks fall as long as we’re alone.”

“No,” Draco denied, “I don’t let them fall. You pull them off. And I’m glad you do. It reminds me that I can be completely myself around you.”

 

The remaining days of the holidays were filled with studying for Harry and Draco. They agreed they could work better at home where they didn’t have the whole population of Hogwarts surrounding them at all times.

Saying goodbye to Lucifer on the last day of their holidays was just as tough as all the times before. Lucifer whined when the gates to Malfoy Manor closed and Draco almost asked their mother to let him stay for a few more minutes. They knew, though, that it would only make parting with him even harder, if they stretched it out, so they let Harry pull them into an embrace and apparate them back home.

 

When they boarded the Hogwarts Express again the next day both Draco and Harry were in a good mood. While their time alone had been relaxing and refreshing they were both glad to see their friends again. To Draco’s surprise even Ron was sitting with them. They had expected him to share a compartment with Granger, she was after all his girlfriend, but when they asked him about it Ron told them he had broken up with her the day after he had talked to Harry.

They settled into a conversation about their respective holidays almost immediately. Neville told them about a plant he had finally gotten to care for again after he had left it under a stasis charm since the end of the Christmas holidays and Luna recounted how she and her father had encountered a rare magical creature called the Natter-Flutter.

The conversation paused suddenly when the door to their compartment slid open a few minutes before the train was scheduled to leave. Granger stepped in and upon seeing her Draco froze in their seat. Harry noticed it and without hesitation pulled Draco on his lap to comfort them. Just a second later all their friends had moved between Draco and Granger in a protective half-circle and Draco relaxed marginally. They were surprised but flattered by how protective their friends were. Harry pulled them even closer and slid one of his hands under their shirt so he could pet the scales on Draco’s lower back to try and calm them.

“I’ll… sit somewhere else…” Granger finally said after long seconds of uncomfortable silence. When the door fell closed behind her a little more of the stiffness disappeared from Draco’s frame but they still didn’t dare relax completely again. What if Granger told others about them being non-binary? They were ready to come out now but that didn’t mean they wanted other people to do it for them.

Throughout the whole journey Draco stayed tense, no matter how much Harry’s touch and scent and words soothed them, always fearing someone else would barge into their compartment because Granger had outed or maybe just badmouthed them. They were more than glad Harry didn’t complain about their agitated state and just comforted them. Though it probably didn’t look like it to an outsider that easily given comfort was exactly what they needed.

The conversations with their friends were stilted at best during the whole journey but it was better than talking about the elephant in the room.

 

Harry pulled Draco into a tight hug the second the door to their rooms closed behind them after dinner. He didn’t ask any questions, he just held Draco again and now, in the privacy of their own rooms, the tension bled from Draco’s shoulders. They would have fallen to the floor if Harry’s arms hadn’t kept them upright.

“Do you think Granger will tell anyone about me?” they asked after a few minutes during which they had just listened to Harry’s comforting heartbeat.

Harry sighed deeply. “I honestly don’t know. I hope she knows how personal and private gender is and won’t use your trust in her against you but I can’t guarantee it. I guess we’ll find out soon, though.”

Draco smiled sadly. “Yeah, we probably will.”


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit I've uploaded chapters of this story for 2 years now :o

It was the first time since Harry had gotten better grades than Dudley in first grade and had been punished for it that he had studied earnestly for his exams. So far he had always had the prospect of punishment to discourage him from studying or, once he had started at Hogwarts, the evil wizard that wanted to rule over all wizards and take his life. But now, without either the Dursleys or Voldemort always on his mind (or in his head, in the case of Voldemort) and with Draco there to encourage him and study with him studying had almost become fun and he was confident he wouldn’t fail any of his NEWTs. Under different circumstances he might have told Hermione about it and revelled in either her surprise or her smug looks. He almost missed her – no, he did miss her – but she had made her decisions and he had made his and didn’t regret them.

Draco on the other hand wasn’t as confident about their knowledge and skills and when they rummaged through their trunk for their Potions notes from First Year Harry firecalled Pansy in his desperation.

“Is he freaking out?” Pansy asked before he could even see her head.

“They,” Harry corrected. “And yes, they’re freaking out.”

Even with the green tinge of the Floo it was obvious Pansy was blushing.

“Yes, right. They do that every year. Let me talk to them.”

“Oh, hey Pansy.” Harry hadn’t noticed Draco come in so he jumped a little and looked up at them. Draco smiled at him and sat down next to him. “Why are you calling?”

Pansy chuckled. “Actually your…”

“Alyran,” Harry helped out.

“…your Alyran called me. Apparently you’re freaking out about your NEWTs.”

“I’m not freaking out,” Draco said pouting. “I just wanted to check some of my Potions notes from First Year.”

Pansy rolled her eyes. “As I said, you’re freaking out. Give your notes to Potter.”

Harry laughed when Draco handed their notes over to him with a dramatic sigh.

“Satisfied?” they asked.

“Not really, no. Why are you so worried about your Potions NEWT?”

The frown on Draco’s face grew more pronounced which prompted Harry to start caressing a patch of scales on the back of Draco’s hand so they wouldn’t jump through the Floo and claw at Pansy’s face.

“My NEWT results will influence my future, Pansy. I don’t know about you but _I_ don’t want to live off my family’s wealth for my whole life. On the contrary, I’d like to contribute to it. But I won’t get an apprenticeship anywhere if I don’t get top grades in every exam and maybe not even then because of this.” Draco pulled up their left sleeve to uncover their Dark Mark. It had already faded but was still visible as long as you knew what to look for.

“We know all this, Draco,” Pansy said in a voice that made it clear she wouldn’t tolerate anyone contradicting her. “That’s still no real reason to freak out about your Potions NEWT of all things. You’ve always had the best grades in Potions, even better than Granger. Professor Snape even offered you an apprenticeship in Fifth Year. And Slughorn, who didn’t like you in the slightest, had to admit you’re a natural at Potions. You will get an O in your Potions NEWT, there’s no question about that, Draco. If you don’t I’ll come back to Britain and have a little talk with your examiners.”

Harry smiled when Draco finally relaxed a little. “Thank you, Pansy.”

“You’re welcome, Po- Harry. I apologize for wanting to hand you over to the Dark L- Vol-de-mort. I was scared and desperate. I hope you can forgive me and we can at least be civil to each other.”

“I forgive you. I understand why you did what you did and as long as you don’t use whatever I tell you for gossip purposes I think we can at least try to be friends.”

“That is a lot to ask,” Pansy said but smiled at him. “But I’ll try my best.”

 

“I can’t decide whether I should be shocked or amazed,” Draco said after Pansy’s head had disappeared from the flames again.

“Why?” Harry asked.

“Amazed because you got along with Pansy so well or shocked because you couldn’t deal with me and had to call Pansy to help.”

Harry chuckled. “I would’ve called Blaise but I don’t know his Floo address.”

Smiling Draco pulled him closer and gave him a short kiss. “I’m glad you’ll try to be friends now.”

 

Draco was beyond relieved when they stepped into the hallway again and closed the door to the classroom for the practical Potions NEWT behind them. They were quite sure they had done their best and were glad they wouldn’t have to think about Potions for a while, even though it was their favourite subject.

Harry probably wasn’t done with the practical part yet so Draco decided to go to the kitchen to get snacks for both of them before they went back to their rooms to relax. On their way there, they ran into Granger.

“Granger,” Draco said almost cordially and hoped she would give them the same courtesy or just ignore them. They weren’t quite that lucky.

“Draco, can I talk to you?”

Draco let out a long sigh. They weren’t ready for this, yet, at least not without Harry by their side.

“Meet us in front of the Room of Requirement after dinner,” they decided. “You remember where it is, I hope.”

“Yes, I…” she hesitated for a few seconds and Draco already wanted to walk on when she spoke again. “Thank you.”

Draco nodded curtly in acknowledgement and walked away. They could only breathe normally again when they entered the kitchens and were surrounded by several house elves eagerly awaiting their orders.

 

When Harry entered their rooms after his Potions NEWT he was confused. He didn’t see Draco anywhere. Draco had begun the practical portion of the exam much earlier than Harry so he had expected them to be here already. Before Harry could start to worry, though, a handful of house elves appeared in the sitting room and set up an assortment of snacks on the table. Just as the last house elf had disappeared again, Draco entered as well, looking tense. In fact, they looked so tense Harry was surprised they could move at all. What – or who had they encountered on their way here? They had reacted similarly when Hermione had entered their compartment on the Hogwarts Express, had she caught up with them somewhere?

“Are you okay?” Harry asked them and held out his arms in invitation.

Draco looked at him for long seconds before they slumped down on Harry’s lap and buried their face in the crook of Harry’s neck. “Not really,” they whispered. Harry wasn’t sure whether he would’ve heard them if their lips hadn’t been pressed against his neck so he could feel as well as hear the words.

“What can I do for you?”

Draco just pressed their body closer to Harry’s in response. Harry smiled at them and wrapped his arms around them tightly.

“I met Granger on my way to the kitchens to get us snacks,” Draco said, their voice barely above a whisper, once they had relaxed a little. “She wanted to talk to me and I told her we’d meet her in front of the Room of Requirement after dinner. Will you come with me?”

Harry squeezed Draco’s hand that they had sneaked into Harry’s at some point. “Of course I’ll come. And I’ll definitely kick her ass if she says or does something insensitive or just plain hurtful.”

“You don’t have to, Harry,” Draco insisted. “I know she’s your friend and I can defend myself. I just need you there as moral support.”

Harry rolled his eyes. He felt like sometimes Draco was too stubborn for their own good. “She _was_ my friend, Draco. She lost that privilege when she hurt you. You, on the other hand, _are_ my friend and I don’t like seeing my friends get hurt.”

Draco sighed in defeat. “I’ll let you take over when I can’t deal with her anymore. Is that acceptable?”

Harry smiled and kissed Draco’s forehead. “Yeah, I can live with that.”

 

After dinner they went almost directly to the Room of Requirement even though Draco tried to delay them as much as possible. At least they hadn’t cut their dinner short when Granger had left long before them.

“You can’t put this off forever, love. Think about it this way: the sooner we talk to Hermione the sooner you can stop worrying about it,“ Harry argued when Draco pulled him to a stop right in front of the stairs leading to the formerly forbidden corridor.

Draco frowned at him. “I hate it when you’re right.”

“Come on.” Harry pulled them close and kissed their forehead. “Let’s go.”

 

Granger was already pacing in circles close to the blank wall where the Room of Requirement was hidden, waiting for them impatiently.

“Took you long enough…” she muttered.

Draco raised an eyebrow. They were pretty sure Granger hadn’t meant for them to hear that. It was definitely interesting to know she had expected _them_ to cut their meal short when _she_ was the one who wanted to talk to them.

Without further comment Draco stepped in front of the blank wall to conjure a cosy room with a distinct Slytherin touch. They wanted to feel comfortable and didn’t really care how Granger felt about the green fabrics and snake décor. They were relieved, though, when Harry didn’t seem to mind the scheme of the room in the least and pulled them towards the plushy green armchair almost at the centre of the room. Draco had spent hours of their childhood in a similar one in the Manor back when their father had still read to them and no matter what their father had done since then, it still evoked only positive memories. The chair was large enough for the two of them so Draco decided to sit next to Harry and not on his lap. Granger perched on the edge of a grey couch opposite from them and cleared her throat.

“Thank you for… agreeing to this.” Granger sounded distinctly uncomfortable and Draco had trouble keeping in a smile. It made them feel better to know they weren’t the only one. It seemed she hadn’t planned this beforehand and had just seized the opportunity when she had run into them earlier. “I want to apologize. I realize now I shouldn’t have told you how to label your gender. I’m sorry.”

Draco nodded. “I won’t say I accept your apology because I don’t, not yet, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

Granger wasn’t happy about their reaction. “Why? Why can’t you just accept it and move on?”

Draco knew Harry wanted to answer her but they were glad when he just squeezed their hand instead and let them answer.

“Your comments hurt me and a simple apology isn’t enough for me to forgive you.”

Granger frowned. Apparently she would only be satisfied with this conversation once Draco forgave her and told her they had never stopped being friends.

“What can I do to make you forgive me?” she asked.

 “First of all, you can’t _make_ me. It’s my decision whether I’ll forgive you at all. And in case you want to improve the chances of that happening, have you ever heard of the phrase ‘ _Actions speak louder than words’_?”

Granger didn’t say anything for long seconds and by the time she did Draco was sure she could hear their accelerated heartbeat.

“I know the saying. I’ll try to do that, then.”

Draco hoped the sigh they let out was inaudible at least for Granger. They nodded in acknowledgement again.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Granger said when she realized they wouldn’t say anything more before she got up and left the room.

“That went better than I had expected,” Harry said after the door had fallen closed behind her again and kissed the patch of scales right behind Draco’s ear.

“It did,” Draco agreed. “And her apology sounded honest.”

“Let’s hope it was.”

 

After his Care of Magical Creatures NEWT all Harry wanted was to cuddle with Draco back in their rooms. He found them in their bedroom lying in what seemed to be a nest made of both their clothes.

“Draco? What happened?” he asked slightly confused while he already pulled off his shoes and robes to join Draco in the comfortable looking nest.

Draco looked up at him, their eyes half closed as though they were already half asleep. “I built a nest.”

Harry smiled fondly at them and lay down next to them. “I can see that. But why did you build a nest?”

“Dragon Instincts,” Draco simply said and nuzzled Harry’s neck. “How was Care of Magical Creatures?”

“It went well, the written part was almost too easy,” Harry told them and remembered the last question on the exam with a smile on his face. He’d had to list the twelve uses of Dragon blood and while he had sifted through the Old Knowledge he had found another, thirteenth use for it that he had no inclination of sharing with anyone.

“That’s good. I told you, you had no reason to worry about it. Do you want to tell me about it?”

Harry shook his head. “Maybe later. Right now I want to relax a little and after that I want to know why we’re lying in a nest.”

 

Harry woke up again some time later with his body wrapped around Draco who was reading the Dragon Child’s diary once again.

“For how long was I asleep?” he asked Draco.

“Just an hour or so, not long. I decided to look into the diary to see if there’s any mention of a nest because I know nothing more than my Instincts tell me which is I should build a nest even though we won’t have a egg to put in it for a few more years. So far I haven’t found anything, though.”

“An egg? As in, we can have a child?” Harry asked hesitantly. He didn’t want to get his hopes up. He had made peace with the thought of adoption but being able to have a biological child without having to have sex was… almost too good to be true, even with magic in the equation.

Draco smiled down at him and kissed him. “Yes,” he breathed. “When the Dragon Deity decides we’re ready an egg will appear between us one night and thirteen months later a Dragon will hatch from it.”

Harry’s eyes widened with each of Draco’s words. They could have a child. Their own child made from their love and gifted to them by the Dragon Deity. It was a miracle. He was so happy he didn’t even mind the tears that had started to stream down his face. To his relief Draco seemed just as ecstatic and when Harry pulled them into a kiss they were both smiling widely.

“I want to thank the Dragon Deity with a prayer or maybe a ritual,” Harry decided. “Can we do something like that?”

“That’s a great idea, of course we can. The moon is full tonight which is ideal for positive rituals like that and we don’t have any obligations tomorrow so we won’t have to worry about getting up early. The timing is ideal. I’m sure we can find a fitting ritual with the help of the Old Knowledge.”

“All right. Thank you, Draco.”

Draco smiled at him and kissed his forehead. “You’re very welcome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and Comments keep me motivated.
> 
> EDIT 6/8/17: I finally got around to fixing Draco's pronouns every time I accidentally used he/him in the last few chapters and made a few other minor adjustments. If you find any other mistakes pls tell me.


	47. Chapter 47

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I wrote 46 chapters without naming Draco's owl. The lengths I go to so I don't have to come up with names :D. I hope you enjoy this chapter in which the newly named owl is only mentioned once.

It didn’t take Harry and Draco long to find a ritual they could use to thank the Dragon Deity. The preparations weren’t time-consuming either so a few minutes after the curfew that didn’t apply to them they exited their rooms and made their way to the grounds. They had decided to use the clearing where they changed into their Dragon forms every day for the ritual because the only requirements for it were an unimpeded view of the moon and a circle of trees surrounding the space. The clearing also had the additional bonus of being linked to their Dragon heritage.

They had only walked a few yards into the Forbidden Forest when Harry suddenly stopped. Draco looked back at him when they didn’t hear his footsteps behind them.

“I don’t feel safe. Can we maybe transform now instead of on the clearing?” Harry asked. “I have a feeling there’s a smaller chance of animals eating us when we’re Dragons.”

“All right,” Draco agreed readily. They had to admit they didn’t feel exactly safe either even though neither of them had ever been attacked on their walk to the clearing during the day. There wasn’t enough space on the thin path for two full-sized Dragons so they both found themselves in tiny, about lizard-sized versions of their Dragon bodies. It should have been weird to be in such a small body but Draco felt the same contentment as they did when they were a full-sized Dragon.

The remaining walk to the clearing took a little longer than it usually did because of their smaller size but Draco didn’t mind and from what they saw, Harry didn’t either. In fact, Draco appreciated this new, low vantage point because they found a few herbs they could use in potions right next to the walkway. They hoped they would remember the places when they came back here the next day.

When they finally reached the clearing Draco didn’t stop at the entrance like they usually did but instead walked into the middle of the clearing right away and let their body grow to its normal size. Harry joined them just a few seconds later and slowly grew as well.

“ _That was fun,_ ” he growled.

“ _Are you saying we should do this more often?_ ” Draco teased. “ _Sneaking out of the school in the middle of the night to talk to a deity?_ ”

Harry gave them a wide Dragon smile. “ _Why not?_ ”

Draco pressed their nose to Harry’s. “ _I love you._ ”

“ _I love you, too. Now, let’s do this ritual._ ”

 

They were already standing snout to snout so they both just stretched their snouts as far into the sky as possible and then walked a few paces towards each other until their outstretched necks almost touched. On Draco’s cue they both breathed a gust of flame into the sky. The flames morphed into one big flame which slowly turned blue while the air around them seemed to get warmer and the moon brighter. The ritual had been successful. The Dragon Deity was with them now.

Draco and Harry stopped their flames simultaneously when they were sure the Dragon Deity wouldn’t leave again and both shifted into more comfortable positions. Harry was the first to speak.

“ _Thank you for agreeing to talk to us, Deity. We wanted to thank you for making it possible for us to have a biological child._ ”

“ _You don’t have to be so formal with me_ ,” a deep, resonating voice said. “ _It is I who is honoured to talk to you and do you this favour, little Dragon. And please call me Kira, it was my name when I was still living on earth as a Dragon. Back then I also was in a situation quite similar to yours. I wanted to have a child of my own to care for but I wasn’t interested in sexual or even romantic relationships. So I can understand your desire and I couldn’t deny you what I wasn’t able to have, even if I wanted to._ ”

Tears formed in Harry’s eyes. He was simultaneously sad Kira hadn’t been able to care for their own child and happy because he would be able to.

When Draco saw the state Harry was in they pressed their snout to Harry’s again until his tears subsided. Then, they addressed Kira.

“ _I want to thank you as well, Kira. I have to admit, the need to build a nest felt strange at first but once I understood why I did it, I was overjoyed. And, I apologize if this sounds strange to you but what are your pronouns?_ ”

A deep chuckle echoed through the clearing. “ _You’re right, my child, it is a strange question but only because we Dragons only use one set of pronouns among ourselves. It doesn’t have an English translation but Dragon Children and their Drakhono usually use they/them as an approximation when they talk about us to non-Dragons. I’m surprised your Guardian hasn’t told you about it, yet._ ”

“ _Our Guardian?_ ” Harry asked. “ _Do you mean Grace?_ ”

“ _Yes, the descendant of the last Dragon Child. She is supposed to teach you but I guess the three of you have been rather occupied in the last few months. On that topic, I wanted to congratulate you on breaking the prophecy. It was made by the last Medium centuries ago and ever since then we were scared the Dragon Child and their Drakhono would die on the hand of someone they trusted. I think I speak for all Dragons when I say I’m glad that didn’t happen._ ”

Harry smiled. “ _Thank you. We are glad, too. It really tortured Grace to know it was either us or her._ ”

“ _That it did. She talked to me about it when she first met you and I felt so bad for her but I couldn’t give her any hints. I can help with almost everything but when it comes to thwarting prophecies I’m sadly powerless._ ”

They talked a little while longer until Harry started yawning and Kira shooed them away.

“ _Go to sleep, little Dragons. We can talk another time. I’ll make sure no one sees you so you can fly to the castle from here._ ”

“ _That is very generous of you, thank you Kira,_ ” Draco said. “ _We’ll come back soon._ ”

“ _Yes, thank you,_ ” Harry added. “ _And have a good night._ ”

“ _I will, my child. Blessed dreams to both of you._ ”

Draco felt the presence of Kira slowly leave the clearing. When they had fully disappeared the temperature fell abruptly and the moon returned to its usual brightness.

“ _That was… breath-taking,_ ” Harry said and yawned again.

Draco chuckled. “ _It was. Now let’s get you to bed._ ”

Together they took off into the sky and flew back to the castle side by side.

 

Harry was already half asleep when he could finally fall into the nest on their bed. Draco stood above him with a fond smile on their face and wove their wand to change his clothes to pyjamas.

“Thanks,” Harry whispered and curled up in the soft mix of his and Draco’s clothes. The last thing he noticed before he fell asleep was Draco lying down next to him, wrapping their arms around him and whispering “Sleep well.”

 

When Harry woke up the next day, breakfast in the Great Hall was already over. He gently moved Draco’s limbs off himself, careful not to wake them, and went into the kitchen. He put pots and pans on the stove because a brunch in their rooms sounded way more appealing than lunch in the Great Hall after yesterday’s revelations – it always did but now he had an excuse in case Draco questioned him. _Speaking of the devil_ , Harry thought when he heard the tell-tale sound of naked feet on the tiles of the kitchen just a few seconds later. Draco stepped behind him and wrapped their arms around him.

“Good morning,” Harry said. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“You didn’t,” Draco said and Harry could hear the smile in their voice. “Your absence did.”

“I’ll try not to be as _absent_ the next time I get up when you’re still asleep, then,” Harry teased.

“’s a good idea.” Draco pressed themself closer to Harry and kissed his neck. “What are you making? Can I help?”

“I thought scrambled eggs with vegetables and cheese, some crisp bacon, hash browns and baked beans. Sound good?”

“Delicious. Should I cut the vegetables?”

“That would be great, thank you.” Harry turned around and gave Draco a short kiss.

 

“I really missed this,” Harry said and let himself fall into the chair next to Draco. “Just being domestic with you feels so good.”

Draco smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “I missed it too. I’m glad all this stress is over in just a few weeks and we can do whatever we want from then on.”

Harry hummed contentedly in agreement and started eating with the hand Draco wasn’t holding.

 

Their domestic bliss was interrupted by a knock on one of the windows a few minutes later.

“I’ll get it,” Harry said and got up. It was probably an answer from Charlie. Harry had written to him after Ron had proposed Harry and Draco could stay at the Dragon reserve in Romania for a few weeks after graduation. He hadn’t told Draco about that, yet, though so he hoped they wouldn’t rip off his head, either for keeping it a secret or for doing it without their input.

Harry was right. The owl patiently waiting outside the window was wearing a tag from the Dragon reserve on her claw. He opened the window and let her fly inside where she perched on the stand Draco’s owl, Adonis, usually occupied. Harry took the letter from her leg and put a few owl treats into the bowl affixed to the stand before he walked back to the table and sat down next to Draco again.

“Draco?” he said when Draco was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes?”

“I might have written to Charlie Weasley to ask whether we can come to the Dragon reserve in Romania for a while,” Harry admitted, looking not at Draco but at his lap. He didn’t want to see Draco’s reaction in case it was negative.

“And that is his answer?” Draco asked.

“Yes?” Draco didn’t sound angry but Harry was still a little hesitant.

Draco put two of their fingers underneath Harry’s chin and gently tilted his head up with them. Harry dared to look up and saw Draco smiling at him. “Let’s see it, then,” Draco said, confusing Harry further.

“You’re… not mad?”

“Why would I be?” Still smiling, Draco kissed Harry’s cheek. “I told you we could go wherever you wanted to after we graduated. That includes things you plan on your own and don’t tell me about until they’re set in stone.”

Harry sighed relieved. He still had to get used to how Draco treated him in contrast to his relatives or even his friends. “Thank you.”

Draco kissed his cheek again. “You’re welcome. Now, let’s see what Charlie writes.”

Harry leaned against Draco so they could read better over his shoulder and then unrolled the parchment.

 

_Harry,_

_It’s good to hear from you._

_My friends and I would love to have you and Malfoy over for a few weeks and I think the Dragons will only profit from having people around who can do some translating between our species. You should definitely talk it through with Draco before you leave, though, even if you haven’t told them about your plans, yet._

_I’m looking forward to seeing you and Draco again._

_Charlie_

 

Harry smiled brightly. “Draco, do you want to fly to Romania with me after graduation?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments keep me motivated.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another chapter that fought me continously and one of the scenes is now a lot different to how I imagined it in the beginning.

“I’ve never believed in a god before,” Harry said when he and Draco were relaxing in their nest after breakfast.

“Before what?” Draco asked and ran their hand through the shaved hair on the side of Harry’s head. It was already getting curly and Harry knew Draco wanted him to get it shaved again but so far they hadn’t said anything about it.

“Before last night,” Harry clarified.

“Why not?” Draco sounded genuinely interested. “I thought Muggles were all very religious?”

Harry sighed. “A lot of them are, yes, and my relatives are too. But I just couldn’t believe in a God who didn’t do anything when my cousin got two bedrooms and I had to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs.”

Harry didn’t like the pitying look on Draco’s face so he looked at the far wall instead.

“Harry,” Draco said softly. “Harry, please look at me.”

It was more a request than a demand so Harry looked at Draco again and as he looked into their eyes again he saw it wasn’t pity he had seen there a few seconds ago but sympathy, sympathy and pain.

“You don’t ever have to go back there, Harry,” Draco promised. “You don’t even have to see them again if you don’t want to.”

“How? I won’t avoid Muggle London just because we might run into them.”

Draco’s face lit up with a mischievous smile.

“There’s a ritual. It makes them invisible to you and you’re invisible to them in turn. The use of it is tracked by the Unspeakables in the Ministry, though, or criminals would use it left and right to hide from the authorities. But if you want to have it cast we’ll talk to the Headmistress about it.”

“That… that would be great.” Harry wasn’t quite able to believe it. If he saw his aunt and uncle at his own funeral, it would be too soon so this would be the perfect solution. It was almost too perfect.

“Will they still be able to contact me?” he asked when he had figured out what bothered him.

Draco shook their head. “No. The spell will make them unable to see your name in written form as well. They will however keep their memories of you and you will keep your memories of them.”

Harry nodded, still thinking about it. He definitely didn’t want to see his aunt and uncle ever again but when he had left his relatives’ house for the last time before he went out to find the remaining Horcruxes his cousin had tried to apologize to him and even now Harry didn’t know how to feel about that, whether he wanted his cousin in his life.

“Thank you for telling me about this. I will think about it.”

Draco smiled at him. “Good. But I have a feeling you wanted to talk about our conversation with Kira yesterday and not your relatives and how best to avoid them.”

“I’m glad we talked about my relatives but yes, I wanted to talk about last night,” Harry said and snuggled into Draco’s side with a relieved sigh.

“Go on, then. I will listen,” Draco said and started playing with Harry’s hair again. The soft touches relaxed Harry so he just started talking about the things that had been on his mind since the night before.

“All right. So, as I said I never believed in a God before, not even when you first told me about the Dragon Deity and how they made sure no Dragon Child would ever rape their Drakhono. I could still explain that away as a simple story so the phenomenon wouldn’t have to be explained with” – Harry made finger quotes – “’magic’. The same was true for your nest building instinct and the possibility of having a child yesterday. But when you said we could do a ritual to thank the Dragon Deity and sounded so honest and like you believed in this Deity I started to feel like they weren’t just stories after all – or at least stories based on truth.”

Draco nodded and kissed Harry’s forehead. “So you did the ritual with me to see whether the Deity was real or whether they were worth believing in?”

“That was part of it, yes. But I also wanted to thank them for giving me the chance to have a child with you, no matter if they would show themself to me or not.”

“And now you believe in them?”

“Believe is not the right word. Talking to them felt more like talking to someone I’ve known for years and who I know cares about me than like talking to a higher being. I think of them more like a guardian or a mentor than a deity.”

Before Draco could reply with their own thoughts a deep laugh echoed through the room.

“ _I’m glad you feel like that, Harry_ ,” Kira said. “ _I’m sorry for eavesdropping on your conversation and interrupting it but I felt I should tell you I actually prefer when my protégés don’t think of me as a deity._ ”

“ _Kira, I have to admit I’m curious_ ,” Draco said in Drakhan. “ _Can you eavesdrop on every conversation or just ones about you?_ ”

Kira chuckled. “ _Phrased like that, I have to say it’s neither. I can only listen in on conversations when a participant with Dragon blood mentions my name, whether that is because they talk about me, because they wanted to invite me to the conversation, or any other reason. But now I’m curious as well, Draco. How do you think of me?_ ”

Harry turned and looked at Draco because he was definitely curious, too. He smiled when a blush spread on Draco’s cheeks.

“ _I’m not sure,_ ” Draco said. “ _I don’t believe in any of the deities wizards have and I don’t really see you as a deity, either but I don’t think I feel as close to you as Harry does, yet. I’m sure that will develop with time, though.”_

“ _I hope it does,_ ” Kira said. “ _I already care about you a lot, Draco, about both of you and I’d love for us to have a close relationship._ ”

With that Harry felt Kira’s presence leave again but not without spreading pleasant warmth in Harry’s whole body making him feel like Draco had just touched all of his scales at once. One look at Draco showed him they felt similarly.

“Well, that was enlightening,” Draco said in English.

“It was,” Harry agreed. “But those Wizarding Deities you mentioned, could you tell me more about them?”

Draco smiled at him. “Sure. I don’t know much about them because my family isn’t very religious but I’ll tell you what I know from books and some of my teachers.”

“Soo… religion, Hermione style?” Harry joked. Judging by Draco’s frown they didn’t appreciate the comparison.

“No, religion Draco style. If you would rather hear about it from Granger with every tiny unnecessary detail you can go to the Gryffindor common room or wherever it is Gryffindors spend their time during the weekend,” Draco snapped and turned away from Harry.

“Sorry,” Harry said almost immediately. “That comparison was uncalled for and probably not even accurate. I’m sure Hermione either knows nothing or as much as humanly possible about them.”

Draco sighed. “That sounds about right. Granger is still not back in my good graces and even if she were I’d rather you didn’t compare me to her. Now, do you want to hear about the handful of Wizarding deities I know?”

“Yes, I’d love to,” Harry said and hoped he sounded reasonably excited. He had no idea whether the deities wizards had were even interesting to hear about.

“All right. There’s like two hundred of them, even more if you count the deities that people just randomly invented and assigned to different things and the ones that are specific to certain families or groups of magical folk. I know some stuff about… six of them, so a little more than a handful. If you want to know more, you’ll either have to go to the library or to the walking library.”

“The walking library, really?” Harry asked. Draco just raised an eyebrow.

“All right, I get it, you’re still pissed. I understand.” Harry kissed Draco’s cheek. “Now, who are those six deities?”

Draco shifted a little on the bed and pulled Harry a little closer before they began talking. First they told Harry about Potentia, the goddess of magic, and her sister Flora, the goddess of nature. Apparently Potentia had a feud with Cena, the goddess of everything edible (there was apparently a different god responsible for inedible kitchen experiments but Draco didn’t know anything about him apart from that) which was used to (and had probably been invented to) explain why food couldn’t be conjured. For some reason Draco also knew a little about a more minor goddess called Unda, the goddess of the sea and everything in it. Unda wasn’t on good terms with Cena either because humans continued to use her protégés as food. The last two gods Draco knew about, Harry had to roll his eyes at. According to them a lot of magical folk worshiped both Merlin and Morgana as gods and saw them as the patrons of Light and Dark magic.

“You can’t be serious,” Harry said.

“I am very serious. I never claimed the deities witches and wizards worship are worth worshipping.” Draco smirked. “As I said, my family was never very religious and the only one my father worshipped was Voldemort, who wasn’t worth worshipping either, looking back at it now.”

Draco froze when they realized what they had just said. Harry assumed it was a leftover instinct from the war, after all it had only been a few months and surely talking negatively about Voldemort could have gotten Draco killed back then if the wrong person had heard it.

When Draco didn’t snap out of it after a few seconds Harry wrapped his arms around them and tried to soothe them.

“He’s dead, he can’t hurt you anymore,” he whispered. “I killed him, he’s gone, you can say about him whatever you want now.”

Draco slowly relaxed again. They turned a little and buried their face in Harry’s chest. Harry continued to hold them and stroked their back in soothing motions until Draco looked up a few minutes later and gave him a small smile.

“Thank you, love.”

Harry could hear in their voice that they weren’t just thanking him for the last few minutes but also for vanquishing Voldemort and everything else he had done for them until now so for the first time in his life he just said what he wanted to say whenever people thanked him for doing the things he had to do because he knew Draco would understand it and respect his feelings on the matter.

“Please don’t thank me for the things people made me do or, in some cases, raised me to do. It feels wrong. But you’re welcome, especially for the things I _decided_ to do.”

Draco’s smile grew. “Thank you for comforting me just now, and for saving me from the Fiendfyre.”

Harry smiled back at them and kissed their forehead. “As I said, you’re welcome.”

 

When Draco and Harry entered the Great Hall to have dinner with their friends after being cooped up in their rooms for most of the day, they were almost immediately intercepted by Granger.

“Draco? Can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked.

Draco sighed. They had known they would need to talk to Granger again sooner or later but they would have preferred if it had been later. “Can it wait until after dinner?” they asked, hoping they could at least get a few more minutes to get ready for the conversation.

To their surprise Granger smiled at them and agreed to meet them in front of the Room of Requirement before she went back to the Gryffindor table. Draco just wanted to walk to the Gryffindor table as well when they saw someone waving at them from the corner of their eye. They turned and saw Luna who was sitting at the Ravenclaw table and trying to get their attention. They smiled at her and pulled Harry with them to join her and Ginny.

 

“Welcome to the Ravenclaw table,” Luna said when they reached her. “I hope you’ll find something you like.”

“I hope so, too,” Draco said and kissed Luna’s cheek before they sat down next to her. Harry sat down on Luna’s other side after Ginny had made space for him.

“What did Hermione want from you?” Luna asked.

“She said she wanted to talk to me again. I don’t know what about,” Draco said while they put some potatoes on their plate.

“I saw her leaving the library with a few books earlier today,” Ginny said. “Maybe she wants to tell you about something she found out about non-binary people.”

Draco groaned. “Please, no. I don’t need anyone explaining my gender to me, least of all Granger.” They could already see it in their mind, Granger insisting they had to dress a certain way when they were female and another way when they were male or non-binary. No, they were definitely not looking forward to the conversation, now even less than before Ginny had told them about Granger’s visit to the library.

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad,” Harry insisted. “After our conversation a few days ago I doubt she thinks trying to police how you express yourself is the right way to go. She’s not stupid, she’s just very reliant on what books tell her is right.”

“You might be right,” Draco conceded. “She’s not a bad person. I tend to forget that when people hurt me. But if she fucks up again she can forget about possibly regaining my friendship.”

 

It turned out Harry was right. When he and Draco met Hermione she was carrying a book but instead of quoting from it as soon as they had sat down in the same room Draco had conjured for their last conversation, she offered it to Draco to read.

“It has stories written by non-binary magical folk. I thought you might be interested in it.”

“Thank you,” Draco said and they meant it. They were more than glad Hermione was trying. “But I’ve already read it during the summer. The library in Diagon Alley has a lot more books and books on a lot more topics than the Hogwarts library.”

“Oh,” Hermione said and looked honestly surprised. “There’s a library in Diagon Alley?”

Draco only just held back a scoff. “Of course there is. Adults don’t have access to the school library and not everyone can afford expensive tomes. Aren’t there public libraries in the Muggle world?” Draco hoped Granger could hear they were generally interested in the answer and not trying to be condescending.

“Of course there are libraries in the Muggle world. And I definitely understand the need for a public library for magical folk, I was just surprised I haven’t heard of it before.”

“It seems the education of Muggleborns before Hogwarts definitely needs working on,” Draco muttered. After hearing how much Harry didn’t know about the magical world they had already expected as much but for Granger, bookworm extraordinaire, not to know about the Public Wizarding Library was almost incomprehensible and something that really made them realize how little Muggleborn and Muggle-raised wizarding children knew about the world they would spend at least seven years of their life in.

“It does,” both Harry and Hermione agreed simultaneously. They looked at each other and then at Draco. Draco smiled at them and they all started laughing.

Draco found it felt good to laugh with Harry and Granger – or maybe they should call her Hermione again. Right now they felt confident they could soon become friends again.

“Was there anything else you wanted to talk about… Hermione?” they asked when all that remained of their laughter were three smiles.

“Yes, there was one other thing, actually. While I read this” – she gestured to the book that was still lying in her lap – “I realized I shouldn’t look in a book for ways to show I’m sorry about how I treated you and want to do better. I should ask you what I can do to make you feel more comfortable around me again.”

Draco nodded. “So?”

Hermione sighed. She had probably hoped she wouldn’t have to ask outright. “Draco, is there anything I can do that might help you feel comfortable around me again?”

Draco showed her a small smile. “Yes, there are a few things you can do. First of all, which should be quite obvious, you can use my pronouns around people I’m out to. The second thing I can think of, which you have already been doing, is to search out books written by non-binary wizarding folk, or even non-binary Muggles if you can find any. And when people, especially people you’re friends with, say things that could hurt non-binary people you can speak up and correct them. I can’t think of anything else off the top of my head right now.”

Hermione smiled back at them. “All right. I’ll try my best to do all that. Thank you for agreeing to talk to me again. I could see how little you wanted to when I first asked you.”

Draco’s smile grew a little. “I’m glad I agreed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments keep me motivated.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


	49. Chapter 49

There had been only two things Draco had allowed themself to think about ever since they had seriously started studying for their NEWTs – their relationship with Harry and of course all the material they had to revise. In previous years they had only cared about studying and revising during that time, but after Harry had Floo called Pansy because he couldn’t deal with their constant studying anymore they had realized they needed to make space in their day and in their mind for Harry as well, because in the end their relationship with Harry was much more important to them than an _Outstanding_ in one of their NEWTs.

Now they were on their way back to their rooms after their last NEWT – Ancient Runes – and all the other things they needed to think about slowly came back to the forefront of their mind. The first thing they remembered they had to do was to find someone to take care of Lucifer while they were in Romania with Harry so they started to make a detour to the Ravenclaw tower to ask Luna about it. About halfway there they realized they should maybe talk about it with Harry first because at least in their mind they shared custody for Lucifer with him by now, so they hurried to get off the stairs that would bring them to the Ravenclaw tower before they could change directions and instead continued on their way to their rooms.

With that thought out of the way for the time being they spent the rest of the walk thinking about and starting to plan the speech they were expected to deliver during the Leaver’s Ball which would take place on Saturday. They had gotten a letter from the Headmistress on Monday telling them they were the best student of the whole year – alongside Hermione of course – and thus were expected to prepare a short speech. There were even a few examples of previous speeches included in the letter to give them an idea about what was expected of them. They appreciated the thought behind that, but now that they finally had the time to they figured out what they wanted to talk about in less than a minute and started planning the _how_.

 

Still completely lost in their thoughts Draco almost ran over Harry when they finally entered their rooms. They only remained standing because Harry had noticed how out of it they were and pulled them into a hug before they could fall.

“Stop thinking,” Harry said and Draco did because it was Harry’s voice and right now they trusted him more than their own thoughts which were much too many and demanding too many things from them at once.

“Thank you,” they said after a few minutes of soothing silence when they felt their brain wouldn’t try to run in every direction at once as soon as they dared to try to think again. To their relief the only thought that came back to their mind instantly was the matter of their speech and they realized they should probably talk about that with Harry as well.

“You’re welcome,” Harry said. “Why were you so overwhelmed in the first place?”

Draco smiled sheepishly. They really should have warned Harry about what would happen once they came out of their exam daze but it was too late for that now and an explanation would have to suffice.

“The last few weeks I didn’t think about much aside from my NEWT preparations so now all my other thoughts demanded attention again at once and it always takes me a few hours to adjust. In the previous years I simply hid in my room after my last exam until I could function like a normal human being again.”

Harry suddenly let go of them. “Oh, sorry. Should I leave?”

“No, this is so much better than being alone with my thoughts,” Draco said and pulled Harry closer again. “And this way I can talk to you about the things as I think of them.”

“Okay. But I have a feeling this will take some time, so let’s sit down first.”

They did and Draco was reminded of the day of their Potions NEWT when Harry had to reassure them after their run-in with Hermione but this time they didn’t need comfort as much as they simply wanted Harry’s company.

“We’ll need to find someone who will look after Lucifer while we’re in Romania,” Draco began.

“Right, I forgot about that,” Harry admitted. Draco didn’t fault him for it. They were almost certain they had only mentioned the agreement they had with their mother regarding Lucifer once in passing. “Did you already have someone in mind?”

“I was already on my way to the Ravenclaw tower after the exam to ask Luna but then I realized I should maybe talk to you about it first.”

Harry smiled amusedly and kissed their cheek. “Luna is a great choice. But I think her father’s house might be too small for a dog like Lucifer.”

Draco shrugged. “That shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll need someone to look after our house as well so we can ask Luna whether she wants to live there for the time we are away. That way Lucifer won’t have to get used to a new place and Luna can also have Grace over whenever she wants to.”

“That’s a great idea. We should ask Luna at the party tonight.”

“There’s a party?” Draco asked. They didn’t remember hearing anything about it but they had also not been in their right mind until a few minutes ago so it could have easily slipped their notice.

“Yeah, Dean and Seamus organized it to celebrate the end of exams. They originally planned it as a small party on the day of _their_ last NEWT but Luna and I convinced them to do it today instead when NEWTs are officially over for everyone. All Seventh and Eighth Years are invited but I think it will still be mostly Gryffindors coming. You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to but I thought it would be nice to have a more casual celebration before the Leaver’s Ball on Saturday.”

Draco thought about the offer for a few seconds. It would be nice to celebrate without any of the professors watching, Harry was right about that, but they really didn’t want to spend their night surrounded by mostly Gryffindors who would surely all be drunk within an hour.

“I think I’ll stay here. I have no desire to drink and I want to be around drunk Gryffindors even less.”

Harry laughed. “I don’t blame you. Drunk Gryffindors can be a challenge to deal with.”

“You say that like sober Gryffindors aren’t a challenge to deal with.”

Harry feigned surprise. “Are they?”

“They definitely are,” Draco confirmed with a smile. “But you’re only half-Gryffindor, if that, so you’re a whole different challenge. And you know how much I love challenges.”

“So you loving me has everything to do with me being a challenge?”

Draco shook his head. “It’s definitely part of it, I won’t deny that, but there are a lot of other things that I love more about you than the challenge you provide.”

“I was joking,” Harry said and kissed Draco’s cheek. “But I’m glad that isn’t the case. Would you mind if I went to the party alone or maybe with Luna?”

“Of course not,” Draco assured him. “I won’t keep you from having Gryffindor fun. I just won’t kiss you as long as you’re drunk.”

Harry’s face fell. He must’ve taken it as some sort of punishment which was not at all what Draco had intended it to be.

“It’s about consent, love,” they explained. “You can’t give your consent while you’re drunk. I don’t mean it as a punishment, it’s just important to me that I don’t do anything you might object to if you were sober.”

Harry frowned. “I haven’t ever objected to your kisses though.”

Draco sighed. “No, Harry. Consent is important to me so I won’t budge on this. I will get you a Sobering Potion from Madame Pomfrey if it is that important to you that we kiss after you come back.”

“It’s not that important,” Harry insisted but he was still frowning.

“Harry, be honest with me,” Draco asked softly and framed Harry’s face with their hands so he couldn’t look away. “Right now, do you feel like you will want to kiss me when you come back from the party?”

Harry nodded.

“Then I’ll get you a sobering potion. You can decide whether you want to take it when you come back tonight. Is that all right?”

Harry nodded again.

“Good,” Draco said and gave Harry a short kiss. “Now, we weren’t quite done working through my flood of thoughts.”

 

When Harry left for the party a few hours later, Draco accompanied him on his way for a while and kissed him again before they parted ways at the staircase that would bring Draco to the Hospital Wing.

“Have fun,” Draco said and smiled at Harry.

Harry smiled back at him. “You, too. I love you.”

Draco’s smile turned teasing. “I know. I love me, too.”

Harry laughed. “Prat.”

“Come here,” Draco asked and pulled Harry into his arms. “I love you, too. Now go, before I insist we spend the night curled up in our bed.”

 

Harry wisely stayed away from the sweet punch that dominated the table that was almost bending from the weight of the drinks and snacks because he knew it would be as spiked as possible without making it taste like pure alcohol. Instead he shared a bottle of wine with Luna and Neville and spent most of his time at the party with them. Luckily Neville wasn’t the kind of Gryffindor to get drunk out of their mind at every opportunity because other than him and Luna there weren’t any people at the party he could imagine having a good conversation with while slowly getting tipsy.

 

After Draco had gotten a sobering potion from a frowning Madame Pomfrey, who had pulled out a tray of Hangover Potions when they mentioned the party, they went back to their room and got comfortable on the couch with the Dragon Child’s diary and a bowl of various nuts to snack on. They couldn’t really concentrate on the book though, because their mind constantly drifted off to the speech they still had to write, so after a few minutes of pointless trying they got a piece of parchment from their trunk and started drafting their speech instead.

 

Draco was still working on their speech when Harry came back from the party two hours later and only looked up from the parchment when Harry slumped down on the couch next to them looking almost boneless.

“How was the party?” they asked and reached for Harry’s hand.

“Drunk Gryffindors are exhausting to be around,” Harry said.

Draco chuckled. “I think we agreed on that even before you left.

“’s still true,” Harry pointed out sounding adorably pouty.

Draco could only just refrain from kissing Harry’s cheek. “That it is,” they agreed. “Did you still have fun?”

“Yeah… I talked to Luna and Neville. We shared a bottle of wine. But I’m glad I’m back now.”

“I’m glad too,” Draco said. They had been occupied for the time Harry had been gone but they had still missed his presence and the possibility to bounce their ideas off him.

“’m a cuddly drunk,” Harry stated out of the blue and it was only then that Draco noticed he was sitting a little farther away from them than usual. “Cuddling okay?”

Draco smiled at him. Harry looked adorable with flushed cheeks and wide puppy eyes. They couldn’t have told him no if they had wanted to.

“Of course, come here.” Draco held out their arm and Harry leaned against them with his head pillowed on Draco’s shoulder and pulled his legs onto the couch to curl up even closer to them.

“Thanks,” Harry mumbled. “What’re you doin’?”

“I’m trying to write my speech for the Leavers’ Ball. You can read through it tomorrow if you want to.”

Harry nodded and shuffled even closer to Draco so that he was almost sitting in their lap. After a few minutes Draco noticed Harry’s breathing slow down until they were sure he had fallen asleep. They shrugged with the shoulder Harry wasn’t lying on and continued writing their speech. They liked having Harry there and if Harry could sleep like that they definitely wouldn’t complain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can anyone guess what Draco wants to talk about in their speech?
> 
> Kudos and comments keep me motivated.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me forever to write but I hope the length makes up for the long wait.
> 
> I also shared a snippet of one of my unpublished WIPs when I finished the first draft for this chapter. If you're interested in that, you can check it out [here](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/post/171691225247/the-first-draft-of-the-new-chapter-of-the).

The morning after the party Draco and Harry had breakfast in the Great Hall with their friends, as they had agreed to not have any more meals in their rooms for the few remaining days they still were at Hogwarts. After breakfast Hermione invited them both to the Gryffindor common room to spend some more time together but one look at Harry told Draco he wasn’t quite ready for social interactions again after last night’s party, and Draco didn’t feel comfortable spending time with the Gryffindors without Harry around, so they politely declined and instead went back to their rooms with Harry just a few steps behind them.

There, a surprise was waiting for them. Outside one of the windows sat an owl carrying a package. Draco looked at Harry and raised an eyebrow. When Harry only shrugged and sat down on the sofa Draco went to the window and opened it to let the owl in. The moment the window was open wide enough the owl flew inside and circled around the room once before settling down on the dining table. Draco took a treat from the bowl attached to Adonis’ perch and gave it to the owl before they gently unknotted the string that had been fastened around the owl’s claws and the package to keep the owl from accidentally losing it.

“You did a good job,” Draco told the owl when they noticed the package was quite heavy and petted its head. “Thank you.” The owl nuzzled their hand in return and then flew over to Adonis’ perch, settled down on it and got comfortable.

Draco shrugged, guessing there was a letter that needed an urgent reply in the package, and closed the window for the time being. Then they finally got to open the package. They had already seen it was addressed to them right under the unmistakable Copeland Clothing logo and they were excited to see whether Copeland had been able to bring the vision they had for their Leavers’ Ball dress to life. But, they decided, before they looked at their dress, they would read the letter that was lying on top of it, so they could give their reply to the patiently waiting owl.

 

_Dear Draco Malfoy,_

_I apologize if this address seems overly familiar. I don’t know which form of address you prefer and didn’t want to assume._

 

Draco already had to stop reading. They had put their pronouns below their signature when they had written to Copeland about their commission, but they hadn’t expected him to be so considerate about it. They took a deep calming breath and then continued reading.

 

_I was surprised and honestly impressed when I read your first letter in which you commissioned your dress by how detailed and exact your concept was. It is rare for customers to give me more than the bare minimum to work with and even rarer for them to know what is possible and what isn’t when they have more concrete wishes._

 

Draco smiled at the obvious praise, but they began to wonder what the purpose of the letter was. Surely someone as busy as Copeland wouldn’t take the time to thank every one of his customers who made his job a little easier.

 

_I have been thinking of getting an apprentice for a while now but neither of my children are even remotely interested in fashion or design and the applications I have gotten since opening my shop have all been for selling positions rather than designing new products._

 

Draco took a deep breath. They now had an idea why Copeland had written to them and they weren’t ready for it.

 

_To put an end to my rambling explanations and get to the important part of this letter; I would like to invite you to an informal interview to find out whether you would be a good fit for Copeland Clothing._

_If you are interested in an apprenticeship, please reply at your earliest convenience and tell me when you have time for a short interview._

 

_Sincerely,_

_Christian Copeland_

 

The muscles in Draco’s hands went slack and the letter slowly drifted to the ground. They couldn’t believe what they had just read. It was simply too good to be true, they had to be daydreaming or maybe hallucinating. Maybe there had been something strange in their breakfast this morning. There was just no way that Draco Malfoy, known Death Eater, would get a job offer from Copeland Clothing, one of the most popular fashion designers in all of Wizarding Britain.

“…Draco?”

Draco looked up and right at Harry who was standing almost right in front of them. They blinked a few times before they realized he must have moved while they had been lost in their thoughts.

“Yes? Did you ask me something?”

“No,” Harry said and put a hand on Draco’s shoulder. That small gesture of support steadied Draco more than they had thought possible. “I only called your name a few times. What happened? You suddenly seemed miles away.”

“Copeland wrote me a letter,” Draco said, hoping it was enough of an explanation and pointed to the piece of parchment lying on the floor between them and Harry.

Harry let go of Draco’s shoulder again and knelt to pick up the letter. When he wanted to give it back to Draco, they pushed it back into his hands.

“Please read it. Please tell me it’s not some kind of cruel daydream.”

“Okay.”

Draco watched Harry intently while he read the letter as well, still half-convinced they would blink and it would disappear, or Harry would tell them they had imagined the content of the letter and it said something completely different.

“It’s definitely not a dream,” Harry said a minute later with a bright smile on his face.

“It isn’t?” Draco asked cautiously. They knew Harry wouldn’t lie to them, especially not about something that was so obviously important to them, but a tiny bit of doubt remained in their mind.

“It isn’t,” Harry confirmed, smile still in place, and pulled them into a hug. “Why would you think it is?”

Draco pulled out of the hug again and frowned at Harry, sure he at least had to have an idea why Draco might think an opportunity presented on a golden platter was a dream rather than a reality.

“You think you don’t deserve it,” Harry guessed when he noticed Draco’s frown. “Is that it? Or… did you think people wouldn’t want you to work for them because of the war?”

Draco noticed how Harry evaded the truth of _because you were a Death Eater_ and didn’t know how they felt about it.

“You can say it how it is,” they told Harry. “I was a Death Eater, you can say that.”

“I know,” Harry said and took one of Draco’s hands in his. “But _the war_ encompasses so much more than just you being a Death Eater. There were a lot of things you did that had nothing to do with being a Death Eater as well as things you did despite being a Death Eater.”

“People only care about the Death Eater part, though,” Draco argued.

Harry sighed and squeezed Draco’s hand. “ _People_ might but _I_ don’t only care about the Death Eater part. And it seems Copeland doesn’t either or he is simply ready to give you the benefit of the doubt. You deserve good things, Draco. I can see this opportunity is something you want so, please, take it.”

Draco shook their head. “I know I deserve good things. It’s just sometimes hard to believe when they come to me without me doing anything. Before the war, getting things without lifting a finger was almost a given but a lot has changed since then, and I’m always caught off-guard when something happens that I thought would only happen to past me. Does that make sense?”

“It makes sense to me,” Harry said. “I felt similarly when I first came to Hogwarts and I’m sure I would’ve thought my Hogwarts letter was only a dream as well if I had been allowed to keep the first one.”

“The first one?” Draco asked, not quite sure they’d heard right.

“Yes,” Harry confirmed with a smile that promised a story that would be equal parts hilarious and infuriating.

“Tell me,” Draco encouraged, more interested in Harry’s past than their own future for the moment.

“Okay, but it’s a long story so maybe we should get a bit more comfortable,” Harry said and pulled Draco to the sofa with him. Draco didn’t resist. Sitting down sounded good, not least because they still felt a bit lightheaded after the shock. Harry sat down first with his back wedged into the corner of the sofa and when he had found a comfortable position he held out his arms to Draco.

“Sit in my lap?” Harry asked.

Draco wouldn’t have been able to decline that request even if they had wanted to, so they nodded and let Harry pull them onto his lap. Once they were seated they wrapped their legs around Harry’s torso.

“Comfortable?” Draco asked, a little worried they might be too heavy or too bony.

Harry smiled at them, soothing their worries. “Perfectly.” Then he took a deep breath and began telling Draco a little more about his past.

“I think it was about a week or two before my eleventh birthday when my first Hogwarts letter arrived. As I did every day, I went to get the mail for my relatives but this time when I looked through the stack I found a letter that was addressed to me and the cupboard I was living in at that time. I was too shocked by the mere existence of the letter to hide it so when my uncle came into the hallway to check why I was taking so long he took it from me and told me it had been addressed to me by mistake. But even though he brushed it off as nothing, he told me to put my stuff into my cousin’s second bedroom later that day, which I did, but not without my cousin protesting it loudly and vehemently.

“The next day, another letter arrived, this time addressed to The Smallest Bedroom. My uncle once again ripped it to shreds. With every shredded letter, more arrived though, even through the chimney after Uncle Vernon had nailed shut every other entrance to the house. When that happened, my uncle packed all of us into the car and drove us to a hotel where we stayed until the next morning when two large bags full of letters addressed to me were delivered there.”

Draco laughed at that and shifted a little, so they could rest their head on Harry’s shoulder. They had been right, this _was_ both hilarious and infuriating. “What did your uncle do then?”

Harry smiled at them, giving Draco the feeling the next part was Harry’s favourite of the story. “He piled us into the car again and we drove for Merlin knows how long to a town at the coast. There, he got a rowboat from a guy who thought he was out of his mind for wanting to get to a pile of rocks in the sea in the middle of a storm. My uncle still rowed us there, probably hoping we would be unreachable there and Hogwarts would conveniently forget about me. On the rocks was a small rundown shack, where we would stay the night. Vernon and Petunia went to sleep in the only bedroom and Dudley got the sofa. I had to sleep on the floor between the sofa and the cold hearth. It was the night before my birthday and I couldn’t fall asleep anyway, so I counted down the minutes to midnight on my cousin’s watch. I had just wished myself a happy birthday when there was a booming knock on the door of the shack.”

Draco was hanging on Harry’s lips, not only because it was Harry and he talked about his life before he came to Hogwarts which he rarely did but also because Harry told the story in a way that had them always wanting to know what would happen next. So, when Harry checked to see whether they were still listening, they smiled at him and prompted, “Who was it?”

Harry smiled back at them. “It was Hagrid,” he said, and his smile grew at the same rate Draco’s eyes did. Draco had expected it to be Dumbledore or maybe even McGonagall, she had been Deputy Headmistress back then after all, but not Hagrid. But as much as they hated to admit it, they could see why Dumbledore had sent Hagrid. From what little Harry had told them about his relatives, the Dursleys seemed to be the kind of people who weren’t moved by rational, in the case of McGonagall, or even irrational, in the case of Dumbledore, arguments, but Hagrid’s sheer size might have been enough to _persuade_ them to comply.

“My relatives were woken up by the loud knocks and Uncle Vernon had just come out of the bedroom holding a rifle when the door crashed into the room and revealed Hagrid.”

Draco giggled. They didn’t know what a rifle was or what it did but the mental image of Harry’s uncle cowering in front of Hagrid was plenty enough to amuse them.

“Yes, it was a hilarious scene to watch, at least in hindsight,” Harry confirmed and let out a small snicker. “Hagrid then went on to sit down on the sofa facing me and gave me the first birthday cake I can remember getting. Then, after he had made me sausages, he began to tell me about Hogwarts, which I hadn’t even heard of before that. When I knew the bare minimum, he handed me a crumpled letter addressed to me. As you might have already guessed, it was my final Hogwarts letter and addressed to my place on the floor in the Hut-on-the-Rock. Reading it was more confusing than anything but to my relief Hagrid didn’t mind me asking all kinds of questions. After a lot more explaining we finally went to sleep, Hagrid even gave me his coat as a blanket, and the next day we left early so Hagrid could take me to Diagon Alley where I met you for the first time.”

“And I insulted the person who brought you your first birthday cake,” Draco added. Now that they knew more about Harry’s past they once again felt bad for how they had treated him back then and during the following years.

“Yes, you pretty much insulted the first person I can remember being nice to me,” Harry agreed. “But you apologized and both Hagrid and I forgave you.” Harry smiled warmly at them and pulled them into a short but sweet kiss. “Now go and tell Copeland you will come by tomorrow. Don’t think you distracted me from your letter.”

Draco laughed. “All right, all right. It was worth a try, though.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “If you say so. But go now or I will reply for you.”

 

The next morning Harry and Draco went to Hogsmeade right after breakfast because Draco had told Copeland they’d be there as early as possible, so they would have less time to overthink it and chicken out. Harry had planned to accompany them even before they had replied to Copeland so when Draco had asked him to during breakfast he had agreed before Draco had even finished asking their question.

Now they were standing in front of Copeland Clothing and Harry gave Draco one last kiss for good luck before they disappeared into the shop. Harry turned around, so he wouldn’t be tempted to follow Draco to make sure they were okay. Instead he decided to wander around Hogsmeade at least for a while in the hope that it would distract him. His first stop was Honeydukes, where he bought a pack of Draco’s favourite chocolate to give to them later as a reward, a new giant box of Chocolate Frogs to replace the one he and Draco had finally emptied during one of their study sessions, and a few other sweets that caught his eye. Next, he walked into Bee’s Books, the bookshop that had opened just a few months ago, to browse a little. When he stepped out again, a book on Wizarding fashion that he thought Draco might find interesting in his hands, he saw Draco stepping out of Copeland on the other side of the street and smiled. It seemed his timing was perfect.

“Hey,” he called out to Draco, not even bothering to hide any of his purchases.

Draco looked up at him and the smile they were already wearing brightened. “You’re still here,” Draco observed when they had reached Harry. “I thought you’d go back to the castle.”

“What, and miss your happy smile?” Harry teased and wrapped the arm he was holding the book in around Draco’s back in a slightly awkward hug.

Draco returned the hug. “Thank you for waiting for me.”

“You’re welcome,” Harry said and pressed a short kiss to Draco’s cheek. “I take it the interview went well?”

Draco nodded, and their smile widened even more to the point that it looked almost uncomfortable. “Very well. I’ll have another, more formal interview closer to the date I’m actually starting my apprenticeship, but Copeland told me I’m as good as hired.”

“What do you mean, _closer to the date you’re actually starting_?” Harry asked confused. He had thought Draco would want to start working straight out of school now that they had an offer.

Draco shrugged and gave Harry a teasing smile. “I don’t think fashion design is something you can learn while you’re abroad.”

“Abroad? Wh- oh.” Harry wanted to bash his head against the closest wall. He couldn’t believe he had forgotten about their impending trip to Romania.

Draco shook their head and gave Harry an exasperated smile. “You didn’t actually think I would rather start working than travel with you, did you?”

“No!” Harry insisted. “I just…”

“Yes?” Draco asked and pulled Harry in the direction of Hogwarts to start walking back while they were talking.

“I might have forgotten about our trip entirely for a minute,” Harry explained and felt a blush rush into his cheeks.

Draco gave him a fond smile. “Only you. I thought you were your self-sacrificing self when in truth you are just good at temporarily forgetting about important things.”

Harry shoved Draco lightly with his elbow. “Shut up.”

“Never,” Draco said, once again smiling brightly.

 

Back in their rooms Harry put the book for Draco on their nightstand and then sat down on the bed to sort through his purchases from Honeydukes. He had just pulled out the box of Chocolate Frogs when Draco entered their bedroom.

“Don’t you think we should have lunch before we eat more sweets than is good for us?” they asked but still sat down next to Harry and started to look through the things Harry had already taken out. When they spotted their favourite chocolate among the sweets their eyes widened, and they smiled at Harry.

“You remembered,” they said sounding surprised.

Harry smiled back at them and gave them a short kiss. “Of course, I did. I don’t forget about _all_ the important things. But you’re right. We should go to lunch first.”

Still smiling Draco got up again. “Race you to the Great Hall,” they challenged.

Not one to pass up a challenge like that Harry got up as well. “Two conditions,” he proposed. “We start outside our rooms and the winner gets a massage later.”

“All right,” Draco agreed and pulled Harry out of their rooms, obviously excited to have something to compete over again.

Outside their rooms, Draco and Harry shared one last look before they both started running simultaneously. A small part of Harry was hoping none of the teachers would catch them, but the rest of his brain was taken over by his reawakened competitive streak and his desire to beat Draco.

When they got to the first staircase Draco shot Harry, who was just a step behind them, a daring grin and jumped onto the banister to slide down. Harry followed their example without hesitation and his feet hit the ground at the end of the staircase just a moment after Draco’s. In the end, Harry’s shorter legs weren’t fast enough, though and Draco reached the doors to the Great Hall a second before him and gave him a victorious smile. Harry didn’t begrudge them their win and smiled back at them. “Congratulations!” he said only slightly out of breath.

“Thank you,” Draco said and pulled him into a kiss. “I can’t wait to collect my reward tonight.”

Harry chuckled. “I don’t doubt that. But first we’ll have to eat lunch.”

 

After lunch Draco went into their bedroom to get some of the chocolate Harry had bought but they stopped in their tracks when they passed their nightstand and saw an unfamiliar book sitting on it.

“Harry?” they called out.

Harry came to the door to the bedroom in less than a second. “Yes?”

“Do you know how this book appeared on my nightstand? Is it yours?”

Harry shook his head but smiled. “It’s not mine. I’m not all that interested in fashion. I bought it for you. I found it in the new bookstore when we were in Hogsmeade this morning.”

“Oh,” Draco said when the words had registered, a little surprised by Harry’s thoughtfulness. They picked up the book to take a closer look at it. It was titled _The Illustrated Guide to Wizarding Fashion Through the Ages_ and when they looked through it they found the title was accurate. There were sketches of what little was known from the garments wizards wore in Merlin’s time, full drawings of clothes that looked similar to some of the clothes they had seen during their forays into Muggle London, and even illustrations of some of Copeland’s most popular pieces.

“This is perfect, Harry. Thank you.”

Harry smiled at them. “You’re welcome. And just think about it, now you’ll be able to study fashion abroad.”

Draco smiled back. “That is true. I just hope I will be able to still pay attention to you during our trip now that I have this.”

“I’m sure I will find a way to make sure you pay attention to me,” Harry assured them.

Draco chuckled. “I’m definitely looking forward to that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments keep me motivated.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


End file.
